Metamorphosis
by JimJamJammyDodger
Summary: Kathy Murnings lives in a small town and works at a grocery store. She yearns for adventure. But there are strange happenings involving her friends and local teenagers, at a summer hot spot. Then, she runs into this weird man with a blue box. Kathy's life is about to change in more ways than one. horrible summary, i know. takes place between Waters of Mars and End of Time.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

If you had passed Kathy Murnings on the street, you wouldn't have thought anything of it. She was an ordinary 17 year old. Nothing extraordinary, or special. Even Kathy refused to think of herself as anything sensational. But her mind and imagination had other plans. When she was 16, her views on the world changed. She began to think the world was running short of wonders and miracles. Then a man swooped in, with his amazing blue box, and changed everything. Alright, now that sounds rather romantic, but you have not heard the story yet.

But scout's honor, this is not a love story. This is not one of those stories that make you feel good when you read the last sentence. This story is about death and destruction, about torment and struggle. But it's a beautiful and lovely story, about family and togetherness, making changes for the better. Now, as they say, it's always best to start at the beginning.

Kathy grew up in a small town named Torch, Minnesota, with a population of about 900 people. It was one of those towns where everyone knew everyone for the most part, but allowed to meet some new faces every once in a while.

Her family's name was quite renowned around town. Her grandfather wrote a column for the local newspaper focusing on local life, so he knew majority of the town based on that alone. Not to mention, he had amazing people skills. Her grandmother was usually involved in something having to do with local churches and women's activities, meaning that she knew most of the women population. Kathy's father owned a photography business and took almost everyone's wedding pictures and such.

The Murnings were famous for their friendliness and humor. If Kathy had a dime for every time someone complemented a family member of hers, she would be richer than Donald Trump. But Kathy grew used to it and just smiled and nodded when it did happen. It became a normal part of life.

Kathy's father married later in life to a woman who had had depression for a good portion of her life. She gave birth to Kathy, Marie; Kathy's little sister, and her little brother, Daniel. Soon, her mother's depression started to get in the way of her marriage and parenting, leading her to leave the family. Kathy, who was only in second grade at the time, felt obligated to give her younger siblings a mother figure, and assumed the role herself at age 7. To this day, Kathy feels as though she has raised her siblings. Being the "mother" caused Kathy to miss majority of her childhood and, therefore, had to mature much faster than one would ever want a child to mature.

However, when she entered 6th grade, her father remarried to a woman named Robyn, who had three children of her own. The marriage seemed to be a match made in heaven, but soon, the occasional fights turned to heated arguments every other day. Her step-mom eventually lied to the police, saying that Kathy's father was abusive, and got social services involved. Kathy and her two biological siblings were ripped from their beloved home and new family and bounced from foster home to foster home. Eventually, they lived with family members until they went to live with their dad, who was separated from her step-mom.

Since the ordeal with the police, her father was low on funds and worried about college tuition coming soon for Kathy, a high school senior. Kathy agreed to get a job to help pay for college. So she worked at the local grocery store, Mike's, as a cashier. Every day she agreed to go to work without complaints, but she hated her job. All she wanted was adventure and to travel around the world. Instead, she was doomed to say, "Paper or plastic?" every day until college.

And that is what brings us to the day when everything changed. The day when one girl could change one man and his future. When one action changed the course of the universe in one instant.

This is Kathy's story.


	2. Chapter 2

**hey all! So this is my first fan fiction so please go easy on me! I am glad to accept reviews. So hate it or love it? Let me know! I will try and upload the other chapters periodically, but i cant tell you how often. **

**Enjoy! xx**

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The alarm pierced through the mystical haziness of sleep, as a hand came tumbling down on the alarm clock, with enough force to break the night stand it sat on.

_6:30 A.M_.

Groaning, Kathy rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to wipe the dreams from her head. _Summer is meant for sleeping and hanging out with friends and going to the lakes,_ she thought to herself. _Not for getting up at the crack of dawn just to check out groceries. _Making a mental to-do list in her head, Kathy rubbed the sleep from her light blue eyes. _Story of my life_.

Suddenly, she felt a heavy lump on her chest. "Meoww!" her cat, Simba, complained in her face. His usual morning routine was to yell at her to feed him once he heard the alarm go off. He sniffed her cheek and licked it twice to encourage her more. Kathy rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She muttered. "You win." Rising from the bed stiffly and slowly, she scooped food into her cat's dish. "You act like I never feed you." She snorted as Simba practically inhaled his food, purring happily. With a sigh, she turned to her closet.

Kathy eyed all her outfits that she had. There was so many that she wanted to wear. "Hm, how will I ever choose?" She said bitterly. She grabbed her black work pants, black lace cami, and her cardboard colored polo with "Mike's" written on the left sleeve. This was her life. Getting up every morning and wearing an ugly, tasteless uniform. There was no choice in what she wanted to wear. Except her choice of socks.

As she tucked her shirt in, she heard the TV going in the living room. Her dad was awake. His morning routine consisted of watching the news while sipping on a cup of coffee. As Kathy peeked into the hallway leading to the living room, she let out a breath. She wanted to get to the kitchen to fix her own cup of coffee. In order to do that, she had to walk through the living room past her father. Kathy dreaded that the most, because when she did her father would either joke about her outfit or comment on the news. Both things that Kathy could care less about.

The news never appealed to Kathy. It usually consisted of stock market crashes, the war in the Middle East, or trouble in the government. "You've seen one newscast, you've seen them all." She would always say. But to her father, the news was like oxygen, vital to continued life. However, she set her jaw and stepped into the living room.

On the screen was footage of soldiers in combat in the Middle East. Her father shook his head in disgust. "Another car bomb went off in Afghanistan." Her dad informed as Kathy walked past him and disappeared into the kitchen. "Those Arabs are so messed up."

Kathy cringed. Even though he never admitted it, her dad was very racist against anything not American. He made faces at life that was not his own, while Kathy was fascinated by other cultures. "Just stop it, Dad." Kathy moaned.

"I'm serious," he said after swallowing a mouthful of coffee. "If we were not over there helping them, they would blow up their own country."

"They aren't stupid," she said sitting down on the couch stirring her hot cup of coffee.

"I didn't say that, but-" Kathy drowned out his rant. She heard this speech several times before. Instead, she turned her attention to the window across the room. The sky was just starting to mix in oranges and yellows with the purple and black night as the sun peaked its head out from a long night of hide and seek. She could see a few stars still glimmering in the distance, refusing to be phased by the sun.

Kathy had been dreamer ever since she could remember. And lately, with college just around the corner and visits the doctors, she dreamed about the future, however short or long it may be. Her craziest dream was becoming famous and starring in movies. Acting and theater had been a part of her life since she was 14, and once she started she knew she would never be able to stop. Of course, it was a long shot because everyone thought that they could one day be a movie star, wearing designer dresses and rubbing elbows with Hollywood legends. So she kept it to herself. Not even telling her father or friends. Kathy was sure it would never happen. Life was short, but the promise of tomorrow held dear. She even wondered if she would ever be able to touch those stars in the sky as well as the ones in Hollywood. The future was so mysterious and exciting. Kathy knew that one day those distant stars would be within touching distance and dreamed that it would happen soon. Just to get away from the boring town of Torch.

She pulled her dishwater blonde hair in a bun and looked in the mirror. Kathy was a thin girl, stood at about five foot five. She still had braces but they were coming off next month. She wore contacts because she hated wearing glasses. Plus, she could get away with putting on a little make-up, something that her dad did not really like on a regular basis. There was nothing special about her. Nothing stunning or drop dead beautiful. Just Kathy. _Some movie star I will be,_ she thought bitterly.

After getting ready and pulling her dishwater blonde hair in a messy bun, Kathy walked to work. Everything in Torch was within walking distance, plus Kathy loved her alone time. As she walked down the street on that crisp morning waving to neighbors and passing bikers, she couldn't help but think if this was what the rest of her life was destined to be. She loved Torch; she really did. But she wanted to get out in the world and explore life to the fullest, and sooner rather than later. One of the reasons why she wanted to go to college in Minneapolis; change of scenery and a town where not everyone knew everyone.

Finally, she arrived at Mike's at 7:58 and clocked in. It was a slow morning. Only a few people came through with donuts or something they would eat for breakfast on their way to the office. Of course, Kathy would smile and carry a conversation, but she was sure that people could tell that her bright smile lied. Looking around, she grew very unhappy, wishing there was something that she could do to get away.

Within an hour of her shift, two of her friends, Melissa and Liz, came through with snacks and lake supplies. Since there were no beaches in Minnesota, lakes were the next best thing.

"We are going to Lake Moore for the week," announced Melissa cheerily.

"I wish you could come, Kathy," Liz said. "Steve and Stella are going to rent us a boat and then we'll go to Lone Island!"

The Lone Island was _the _ultimate summer hotspot for teens. There is a small island in the middle of Lake Moore, where the Moore's, a once rich family, lived. Rumors said that a company that they owned got sued for torturing humans or something and the Moore's were forced to abandon their estate. Then, a few college students turned it into a huge party house, where everyone went at least once in the summer.

Although, there had been mysterious instances associated with the island. Some of the kids who come back from partying change somehow. Straight-A students suddenly start to flunk their classes and act like they are drunk all the time. There were a few cases when a couple kids would go missing. Adults in Torch wanted the place shut down for good and tear the estate to the ground. Of course, this only made the teens want to go there even more.

Kathy smiled weakly. "I know. I really wish I could come too." _Oh, how I wish I could. _"But I did take next weekend off. So we can do something then."

Melissa smiled. "We are going to have to think of something special."

Liz spoke up. "Ooo, maybe we could road trip somewhere!"

The three girls giggled and started to make plans. Melissa and Liz left, promising to send her pictures of Lone Island. As they left, Kathy felt lonely and depressed. She wanted so desperately to just go with them and forget about work.

Kathy heard someone clear their throat behind her, snapping her back to reality. She whipped her head around and saw Sarah standing there with her arms crossed. Sarah was one of the managers at Mike's and hated anything that had to do with fun. No one liked her and tried to keep their distance from her. If she ever sought after you, even the babies nearby would cringe.

"What was that little display?" she asked crossly.

Kathy swallowed hard and bit her tongue, holding back an argument. "They were just some friends telling me about their weekend plans." Kathy stated stiffly.

"And that involved squealing?"

"It sounded fun." Kathy could feel attitude forcing its way up her throat. "Is there something wrong with squealing?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "If you want to gossip with your friends, then do it on your own time."

"I thought we were supposed to be friendly with the customers." Kathy said placing her hands on her hips.

_"Sarah, to the office, please. Sarah to the office."_ The intercom sounded interrupting the conversation from going further. Sarah turned on her heels and walked away.

Kathy sighed stiffly and closed her till, dashing to the bathroom. She scanned the three stalls to make sure she was alone. All the stalls were empty. Locking herself in the handicapped stall, the bigger of the three, Kathy bit the insides of her cheeks. First, she was forced to miss out on partying with her friends and having a social life, then she had to deal with one of the worst mangers in the world, who hated outside life. In her frustration, she kicked the brick wall with a mighty force. Instantly, a pain shot through her foot. Groaning, Kathy sat on the toilet examining her foot.

_KNOCK!_

Kathy looked up and peeked underneath the stalls. No one had come in. She was still alone. Shaking it off, she sat back down on the toilet, placing her head in her hands.

_KNOCK! KNOCK!_

She sat straight up. There was no mistaking it this time. It sounded like it was coming from the wall next to her. _But that's impossible_, she thought. The only thing on the other side of the wall was a storage area that was infested with mold and mildew. No one was allowed to go in. They had scheduled it to be torn down at the end of the summer. The public was unaware of the storage area of course; bad for business. Cautiously, Kathy put her ear up to the wall and listened.

She could hear some sort of electrical sound like wires being electrocuted. It sounded like an empty room of metal almost. Kathy was just barely able to make out what sounded like footsteps on metal. They were soft but they were there. The storage room was not metal. There was nothing metal about it. Swallowing the urge to scream, Kathy raised a fist to the wall next to her ear and knocked.

Knock, knock, knock!

She could hear her knocks echo a little on the other side. The electrocuting sound sounded again.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! This time the knocks were more like someone banging on the wall.

At this point, Kathy stood on her feet. "Who's there?" she called weakly. She did not want to admit it to herself, but she was frightened.

Suddenly, a low crunch sounded from the wall. The bathroom started to shake a little. Kathy could not believe her eyes. A portion of the wall was moving!

Blinking a few times, Kathy searched her mind for a logical explanation. But there was no denying that the wall was moving to the right, with the sound of stone rubbing on stone.

As the wall moved, it revealed more of the room behind it. Kathy was right about the metal. It looked like a long narrow hallway. The walls were made from steel and the ceiling held an orangish light every few feet. The floor was a metal grating with a bright red light coming from beneath it, contrasting with the dull orange above. It looked like nothing Kathy had ever seen before, not to mention she's seen in Mike's.

But the biggest part that shocked her was the man standing there!

**Bear with me. It will start to pick up from here. Next chapter should be up soon! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a side note. When it refers to him as "the man" i mean the Doctor. In case you get confused. Im just writing it as Kathy experiences things. sort of, but there will be a mixture of the Doctor's POV as well so yea.**

He seemed to be as surprised to see her as she was him, judging by the way his deep brown eyes popped out of his head and his eyebrows arched. His hair matched his eyes, deep brown and crazed. Every other strand seemed to want to go another direction. And he had some side burns that were one inch away from being like Elvis. He wore a brown pinstriped suit with a white oxford shirt and a dark blue tie. Over that, laid a brown trench-like coat that seemed to be a bit big on his thin body, the bottom touching the tops of his red converse on his feet. He was quite a sight to see just him, other than the fact that he had come from the wall in the girls' bathroom.

They both just stared at each other for minute, as the wall slid out of the way. The room stood still and so did the two figures, eyeing each other with their mouths gaping open.

"What?" he asked breathlessly.

"Oh. My. God." Kathy managed to say. They both took a step towards each other, still studying each other. "Who are you? And what the heck are you doing in the wall of the girls' bathroom?"

"A bathroom?" he asked. "Well, that's new." Kathy noticed he had a British accent.

"You're British?" Torch didn't get too many Brits on a regular basis.

"And you're American."

Kathy put her hands up to her temples and rubbed them. This was too much to handle right now. "Whoa, whoa. Just- just wait a sec." Kathy's eyes fell to the metal hall behind him. "What is that?"

The man eyed the mysterious girl again. She was young and American and they were in a bathroom. This was something that had never happened to him, ever. Then it dawned on him that she was pointing to the hall behind him. By the expression on her face, he could tell she had never seen that before.

"Ah, yes, well," he tried to explain. This was quite an accomplishment for one girl he had just met; making him speechless. "That is a metal… corridor…"

"Corridor? That's a metal hallway. But there isn't supposed to be a hall there." Kathy pushed past him and stepped into the hall. Immediately, she felt the air around her change. It was more constricted and crisper. It was a little cooler as well. She could hear the sound of air running above her head. It was almost like something out of a Star Wars movie. Why had she never seen this before or even heard about it?

She heard the man step back into the hall as his converse padded on the grating. Then, Kathy heard the electrocuting sound again, only it was different. She turned and saw him pointing a small pen with a blue light to a control panel on the wall next to the opening.

"What kind of pen is that?" she asked semi-laughing.

He shot a look at her. "Pen?" The man seemed to be somewhat offended. "This is my sonic screwdriver." He said as if she had asked a stupid question.

Kathy chuckled. "Ok. Whatever you say." She said humoring him. Just then, the wall started to slide back into place.

Grabbing the man's elbow, Kathy shouted, "Hey! It's closing!"

"That's the idea." He stated shutting off his noisy pen.

The wall clicked back into place. She hit him in the arm. "That was our only way out! Now you've trapped us in… whatever this place is."

The man grabbed his arm in pain and made a face. "Ow." He looked at her more intensely. "Who are you?"

"Kathy. Kathy Murnings." She stated expecting him to relish on how "wonderful" her father or grandfather is. Instead, he looked confused and pulled out his noisy pen again.

"Completely human." He stated as the noisy pen pointed at her body.

"Of course, I'm human." She exasperated. "I'm a human who's gonna give one hell of pop if you don't tell me what's going on here!"

He ignored her and examined his pen closely. "No signs of power or anything non-terrestrial. Not so much as blip of anything special."

"Hey, hold up there, Mary Poppins. I do have ears!" Kathy snapped.

A growl echoed down the hall, causing both of them freeze and glance down the hall. The growl sounded again and seemed to get a little closer.

"What was that?" Kathy asked stupidly.

"We need to go. Now." He said grabbing her hand and started to make haste to an adjacent hall. Kathy whipped her hand back in protest.

"Hey, cool your crumpets, Winston Churchill! It's a bit early for hand holding, isn't it?" Kathy snapped.

The man mouthed "cool your crumpets" with a confused expression. "Look, I'll explain later." He said. "Right now, you have to trust me."

Kathy let out a laugh. "Trust you? Trust the man who came out of the wall of girls' bathroom and plays with some sort of pen?"

Before he could respond, a squeal echoed behind Kathy. She turned and saw a tiny black and white kitten meowing at them. Her heart immediately melted.

"Aww. Hello little fella." She said softly crouching down to the floor. Kathy held out her hand to the kitten that was making his way down the hall towards them.

"Kathy, I wouldn't," the man warned.

"Oh, please." She said rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious, that's not what you think it is." His voice raised with intensity.

"What's the worst he could do?" Kathy snickered. "Snuggle me to death?" She reached for the kitten as rubbed his head on the sleek wall. He meowed quietly again.

"Kathy-"

"Relax." Kathy started to click her mouth, trying to get the kitten to come to her. "Come here, sweetie. What is a little guy like you doing in a grocery store, huh?"

He meowed again, but it was much louder this time. "Meeeoooowwwww!" this time the meow was loud enough to shake his tiny little body. He yowled yet again, but it sounded more like a lion's roar this time. Kathy jumped up on her feet with a gasp. He roared again, shaking the hall. His sweet little face started to twist and pull in unnatural ways.

"What the-" Kathy's eyes widened.

"Run!" The man grabbed her hand, this time she did not protest, as she saw the kitten's pathetic body grow rapidly and his face shifting grotesquely. The roar started to threaten the structure of the metal hall.

**Kinda short i know. But im going to upload the next one.**


	4. Chapter 4

The man dragged Kathy down an adjacent hallway and they ran as fast as they could. Kathy would glance back every once in a while to see if the creature was getting close. She could never see it, but she could hear it hit the walls and its massive paws slamming on the grating.

The man led her down this hallway and that, turning abruptly, which resulted in Kathy running or smacking against walls. Kathy then realized how horribly out of shape she was. Blessedly, they stopped at a junction of five hallways to take a breath. The roaring had become softer, giving the indication that they had outrun it, for now.

Kathy put her hands on her knees and gasped for air. The man, however, seemed to be only slightly winded. And he was skinnier than Kathy! It was as if he was used to all the running. _I have to know his work-out routine. _She thought to herself.

"What… the hell… was that thing?" Kathy wheezed.

"I believe that was a Gronthaar." He stated matter-of-factly. He whipped out his pen and pointed it around the junction and down each hallway.

"Oh, right. My bad." Kathy said sarcastically. "What good is a pen going to do right now?"

"I told you. It's a sonic screwdriver." He said not breaking his concentration on his "sonic screwdriver".

"What the hell is a sonic screwdriver?!" She snapped tired of playing along.

"It's rather hard to explain."

Suddenly, there was a very loud bang that caused both of them to jump. It had come from above. They stared intensely at the ceiling which was curved like a dome. The sound of metal being pulled groaned down to the floor and echoed down the halls. A chunk of the ceiling was pulled away suddenly. It revealed a head of lion but its face looked more like a lizard, with a scaly snout and a forked tongue. It opened its mouth and roared down at Kathy and the man, displaying his thousands of needle-like teeth.

"Run!" the man screamed grabbing Kathy's hand once more.

"No kidding!" She yelled back.

They ran as fast as they could. Kathy's lungs started to feel as though they were on fire. The air was going past them to fast and Kathy struggled to breathe properly. She glanced behind them at the lion-lizard creature, which was now dangerously close to them. The man tried to dodge into hallways to confuse it and keep it guessing.

"Hey, Monty Python! Do you actually have a way out of here?" Kathy screamed over the ear-splitting roars.

"Don't worry. I've got the TARDIS." He called to her, slightly confused why she kept calling him random names. Before Kathy could ask they rounded the corner to reveal a big blue box.

It was like a telephone booth, only it said "Police Box" on the top, and the panels were deep blue. It looked big enough for the two of them to squeeze into, but the wood did not look like it could protect them from the creature. The metal on the ceiling of the hall didn't even stop it.

"That's your big plan? Hide in a box?" Kathy yelled.

"Have you got a better one?" The man challenged as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"But it's way too… small." Kathy stepped inside the blue box, expecting to squeeze in, but instead stepped into a huge room.

There was a column in the middle with a green light shining from it, which stretched from the floor to the ceiling. At the bottom of the column, there was some sort of round control panel that surrounded the base. It contained a whole collection of knobs and levers and buttons. The walls were curved around the column, giving the room a dome shape. The walls had small divots in them the size of baseballs every few feet. Opposite of the door Kathy could see a hall that lead to another part of the room. Metal grating covered the floor much like the hall they had just escaped. It looked other-worldly. The man ran around the control panel, flipping switches and messing with a whole bunch of buttons.

Once he flipped a switch, the whole room shook and started making an odd sound that Kathy had never heard of before. She grabbed on to the railings that surrounded the platform they were on and screamed, thinking that the creature was attacking it. The man only laughed and smiled brightly, as if he was enjoying the thrashing about. He was absolutely crazy!

Finally, the shaking stopped and the man adjusted a few more things and then turned to the girl who was clinging to the railings.

"Welcome aboard the TARDIS, Kathy Murnings." He said beaming and gesturing grandly to the room.

Kathy looked around again and loosened her grip on the railing. Taking a few deep breaths, she started to laugh. At first, it was light laughter that even the man started to join her. But the laughter soon grew hysterical as if someone had said a really funny joke. The man's smile disappeared slowly and his face turned to confusion.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, you guys are good." Kathy managed to say after catching her breath. "Very good. Ok, you got me."

"What are you talking about?" the man asked even more perplexed.

"The joke's over, guys!" Kathy said loudly to anyone hiding. "Come on out. I mean, I don't know how you did it, but wow, what a show!" She started to look around for any unsuspecting tricksters. "Oh, I bet Brandon is behind all of this. Or Kali? Is this payback for the time I made you trip?"

"Who's Brandon?" The man queried, thinking that Kathy might have gone a little crazy. "Would mind telling me what it is you are talking about?"

Kathy turned to the man, still laughing. "Oh, they must have paid you a big wad of money. Or you lost one hell of a bet." She walked up to him, holding out her hand. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Oh, I'm the Doctor," he said shaking her hand and grinning.

"The Doctor." Kathy stated only half believing him. "Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor." He replied.

"Your name is the Doctor? That's not a name; that's a title. Oh, but I guess I am not allowed to know your real name, am I? Part of the 'deal'. right?" She dropped his hand.

"Deal?" The Doctor said trying to make sense of her. _Blimey, humans are confusing_. He thought to himself.

"Oh, I see." Kathy giggled. "They're behind the doors, am I right?" Before the Doctor could say anything, Kathy skipped to the doors. "Alright, guys, come on out… AAAHHHH!"

She flew the doors open, and took a step only to find that there was no floor. Before Kathy could think, she felt the gravity disappear and her heels fly over her head. Her hands flung out, desperately searching for something to grab ahold of. She could feel herself scream as she flipped uncontrollably. The world around her was made of a billion mini-lights amidst black nothingness, although she could not focus on her surroundings to much in her panic. One thing was for sure this was not the bathroom at Mike's. Kathy was terrified, feeling as though she would never be able to stop flipping over, until a hand grasped her wrist and pulled her.

The Doctor pulled Kathy down to the TARDIS' floor and steadied her as she tried to find her bearings. Her mind still a blur with adrenaline, Kathy took a few shaky breaths and glanced out the doorway.

The sky was the darkest black she had ever seen. The billions of lights she saw as she was spinning, seemed to multiply and scatter as far as the eye could see. Kathy glanced down and saw why her foot had not met a floor; there was no floor. More lights and blackness. She also saw a few spheres that were close enough to see what they were. One sphere was a deep red with a few patches of black scattered over its surface. Then her eyes fell on this one sphere that made her mind explode with wonder. It was a blue sphere, but had green and tan patches of land. White clouds spread over the entire surface, thicker in some places than others. Kathy knew that sphere. She had seen pictures and movies that showed that object. That was her home planet. Kathy Murnings was looking right at Earth. She was in space!

**Yea, so when Kathy is first discovering the TARDIS, i did combine a little of what happened with Amy and Donna when they first saw it. So don't freak out or hate me for it. Anyway, thank you for reading. Reviews are very much appreciated. **

**Oh, and just a warning, things might get a little angsty later on. Sorry, but i found when writing from the Doctor's perspective, it just seemed to fit. I mean, come on! He has lost so much and has seen so many horrors! Oh, i am ranting on, sorry. The next chapter will be uploaded as i edit through them.**

**Many thanks! xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is another short one. I originally had this combined with the next chapter, but it got to be too long and too much. So i tried to split it up. **

**Previous companions will be mentioned, along with some of what happened in Journey's End. Spoiler alert if you have not seen the episode yet!**

Blinking rapidly, Kathy's mind raced. There was no doubt about it. She had felt her trusted beloved gravity suspend from underneath her. That ruled out virtual reality or a projection of some sort. This was no joke. She was actually in space!

"I'm in space." Kathy stated as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Yeah," the Doctor replied shortly, looking out at the vast beauty of space. He had seen it so many times, in different parts of the galaxy, but that did not stop him from being awestruck. Plus, he knew that Kathy needed to digest what was happening. _Typical humans_, he thought to himself.

"But I thought that if you opened a window or something, then you get sucked out or whatever?" Kathy asked not taking her eyes off her beloved home. "And how are we breathing?"

"It's the TARDIS," he explained slowly and carefully. "It's giving us oxygen and keeping us safe. Sort of like an air bubble, but not really."

Kathy only half heard him. Her mind still raced with concepts and questions. She turned to face the impossibly huge room once again. "So," Kathy thought out loud. "If we are in space, then that means this… This is a spaceship."

The Doctor closed the doors behind her, turned to her, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, the TARDIS does I bit more than travel through space, but in a sense, yeah."

"TARDIS?" Kathy asked not meeting his eyes, mostly because she was still surveying her surroundings.

"It's an acronym. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Kathy huffed a short laugh. "'Kay," she replied still not quite comprehending. "But, if we are in space and this is a 'sort-of' spaceship," she turned to face the Doctor. "What does that make you?"

He looked hesitant at first. He never intended to have another person in the TARDIS. Especially not after what had happened after he, or rather the Meta-Crisis him, defeated the Daleks. He even turned away Lady Christina, who he would have loved to have around. But the Doctor knew what happened to humans and what would never happen to him. If he told Kathy about him, he was afraid that she would want to stay.

"I'm the Doctor," he put simply, hoping that would satisfy her. It didn't.

"But, that's not your real name, is it?" she asked unconvinced.

"Yes, my name is the Doctor," he said.

"It's not like a translation of something alien, is it? Or are you alien?"

The Doctor sighed heavily. He was afraid this would happen. "I'm what is called a Time Lord," he explained finally.

"What's that?" she asked tilting her head in confusion.

He searched for the correct words again. Kathy couldn't help noticing the look of pain and suffering in his mysterious brown eyes with every question she asked. It was clear he was uncomfortable, so she told herself to keep the questions to a minimum.

"We're sort of like humans, appearance wise, anyway. But completely different." He tried to emphasize the "completely" part so she wouldn't get any ideas of them being similar in any way. "I have two hearts, for instance. And…"

"Two hearts?" Kathy questioned.

He nodded and went to a panel in the floor. He lifted the grating and pulled out a small metal chest that looked almost like an old fashioned lunch box. From the box, he pulled out a stethoscope and handed it to Kathy. "Listen."

Cautiously, Kathy brought the ear pieces to her ears and placed the chest piece on the right side of his chest. She could hear a steady heartbeat. Nothing alien or different about that. The Doctor gently pushed her hand to the left part of his chest. Kathy's mouth dropped. She could hear another heartbeat. Moving the chest piece back and forth between the sides, her mind raced again. There was definitely two hearts!

Gasping, she tore the ear pieces out and handed the stethoscope back to the Doctor. Kathy put her hands to her temples, trying to process what was happening. It was too much too fast. "Whoa, whoa, cool the motorboats! Let me get this straight," she figured. "I am floating in space, in a spaceship that is way bigger on the inside; with tall, skinny, weirdly-dressed British Obi-Wan Kenobi wanna-be."

"Oi, what do you mean weirdly-dressed?" he protested.

Kathy nodded to his shoes. "Red converse? With a brown suit? Really?"

He shot her a look of mock pain and looked at his feet. "I like my trainers." He whimpered.

Kathy smirked. "Trainers?" she struggled to say as she held back hysterical laughter. "As in training wheels on a bike? You wearing those until you can wear big boy shoes?" She bit her lip hard to muffle the sound of her laughs.

"Oi, that's what Brits call these." He said matter-of-factly, rocking on his heels.

"Yeah, well, in the States, we call them Converse, or tennis shoes." she said as if she was talking to a ten year old.

The Doctor shrugged. "Cultural differences."

"But hold on, if you are an alien, how come you sound British?"

"What? Are saying that aliens need to sound American?" He challenged.

"Well, no, but I just don't understand how…" Kathy sputtered.

"Now," he said cutting her off and rubbing his hands together. He grew tired of playing 20 questions. He walked over to a small monitor and messed with a few knobs. "To determine what the Gronthaar are up to."

**The explanations of the Gronthaars will come next!**


	6. Chapter 6

Kathy took a couple steps towards the circular control board, and recalled to the terrifying creature they had met previously. "Wait so, that was a real monster?" She asked.

"Well, actually they originate from the planet of Trusent, but are known for popping up around the universe. They are extremely adaptable." The Doctor explained this as if he was talking about his favorite TV show, running around the room like a madman, twisting this, and flickering with that.

"But what are they exactly?" Kathy questioned slowly. "I mean, I know that there not… from Earth," She had to pause, thinking that she had never expected to say that sentence seriously before.

"Gronthaars are an intelligent breed. Oh, are they brilliant! They are like shape-shifters, in a way, but they go a little bit further than just changing their appearances. They have this remarkable psychic ability to search their opponents' memories and thoughts and take on a form that means something to them. For instance, you must like cats, so the one that we met took on a form of a small kitten. It probably figured that you wouldn't think a kitten to be threatening in any way. But it could have been anything or anyone. Role models, relatives, or other loved ones." Kathy listened intently, but she couldn't help but feel scared. That thing had searched her brain and took on a form that looked like her cat. The Gronthaar had taken away her belief that she was safe inside her mind. Secretly, she hoped that it couldn't read everything in her mind. Meanwhile the Doctor had not skipped a beat. "And once they see their opponents' guard come down, they use that as a way to attack. Isn't that brilliant?"

"Brilliant? Well, that's not exactly the word I'd use," Kathy said, both entertained and scared by his childish rants. He seemed as though he relished on trouble, like a sadist. But he also seemed like a gentle and caring spirit. The Doctor was one mystery that Kathy couldn't help but investigate.

"Well, apart from the fact that they attack you, of course. But it's part of what makes them adapt so easily. Shape-shifting is their life force. If they don't change forms in a given amount of time, they die off. And Gronthaars are all about survival." The Doctor's mind turned to the Daleks once he said that, causing him to close his mouth and look away from Kathy. Daleks were the ultimate survivors, he knew that. Compared to the Daleks, Gronthaars were just an ant in the universe. His mind turned back to being on board _The Crucible_.

"Remember, Doctor, you did this!" He could hear Davros' last words to him before he burned with the race he created echo in his Time Lord brain. Davros was right. He had caused so much destruction in his many years of travels. Most of the time, whatever disaster happened, whenever it took place, wherever it occurred, the Doctor was the instigator. So many lives ruined and destroyed because of him, and it was all his fault.

Kathy watched him as his slim body tensed suddenly. She didn't know what was going on in that brain, nor did she want to, but it was obvious that it was hurting him greatly. "So, what were you doing in the wall of the girls' bathroom then?" she asked trying to change the subject.

The Doctor inhaled deeply, snapping himself out of the past. He went back to his monitor and playing with the levers. "That corridor, er, hall, was a part of a Gronthaar ship. It hasn't moved in centuries now. I was trying to collect a DNA sample of the Gronthaar, so I could track them." He said pulling a small vial from within his blue suit. It held thick mucus looking substance, which looked both green and yellow.

"But why?" Kathy insisted. "How did you know where to look? What made you want to look for them in the first place? And why do you want to find them?"

As she asked the questions, he placed the vial in a plate that bleeped and squealed as it analyzed the mucus. "Oh, I was in the neighborhood." He lied. In all honesty, he was just trying to run. Run away from the five words that scared him to the bone, "He will knock four times." Finding any excuse to avoid the inevitable.

Kathy knew better. "Liar." She said. "No one stumbles upon this place on accident. Mostly because if you blink, you miss the town entirely."

"Look, the point is we need to find out if there are more Gronthaars and what they are up to. Because if there are a lot of them in one place, it could mean danger." He really didn't want to explain himself to a strange girl he had just met, especially since he had no intention of having her stick around. Staring at the screen intently, he hoped that she would leave it alone.

Kathy, suddenly growing serious, stepped closer to the screen the Doctor was studying. On the screen, there was a bunch of circles, some spinning while others just sat. "Let's try this." The Doctor said messing with nearby knobs and levers. Slowly, the screen switched to a map. It showed the United States, and zoomed to Minnesota, finally zooming to the northern part of Minnesota. There was a collection of green squares in the bottom left corner. Two parallel dark blue lines stretched from the left edge of the screen to the right, running through the collection of squares. In the upper right corner, there was a patch of dark green which surrounded an even darker green.

"So are those little squares Torch?" Kathy pointed to the screen.

"It would appear so." He thought aloud as he pressed a large button off to his right. A line ran over the screen from the top and went all the way to the bottom. As the line passed over the lines and patches of screen, sometimes a light blue dot would appear on the screen. Once the line had made its way down the screen, Kathy noticed that the dots were mostly situated around the dark green patch in the upper right hand corner. There were a few exceptions, as a couple were scattered along the parallel blue lines. There had to be at least 20 dots around the green patch. "Oh no," the Doctor breathed. It was way worse than he thought.

"What?"

"Each blue dot represents a Gronthaar."

She swallowed hard. Her precious boring town was being invaded by aliens. "Well, they like to travel in groups for the most part," Kathy deduced, trying to stay calm. "So, that will make finding them a bit easier. Plus, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

The Doctor shot her glance that she didn't notice. She was intelligent, he gave her that. In addition to that, she seemed to be interested in trouble. And as much as the Doctor tried to deny it, he liked having someone to collaborate with again. It brought him back to the good old days of when he had someone to talk to while they saw history come alive and galaxies reborn. He loved showing off to them, almost as much as he loved learning new things. But every time he got comfortable with having someone next to him, he had to say goodbye. It was not going to happen this time. Not if the Doctor could help it.

Kathy stared at the screen. She could identify that the collection of the squares was Torch. So then, that would mean that the parallel lines must be the highway that runs through town. Of course, highway to Torch meant that some unknown cars would pass by every once in a while because they were lost. She felt as though she should know what the green patch was. What was to the north east of Torch? She made a mental map of the area and looked to the northeast. It was trees. Immediately, she recognized them as The Moaning Woods, a local ghost story. The Moaning Wood surrounded Lake Moore.

"Oh, no. The Lone Island Estate!" she exclaimed. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "Oh my god! This is can't be happening!" She panicked. "Please, oh, please let it be a dream!" The Doctor looked at her confused and worried. As Kathy started to pace, she became a little more hysterical. "Any other town. Why Torch? Oh, why me?"

He stepped towards her and put her hands on her shoulders, making her stop. Kathy was forced to look into his deep brown worried eyes. "Tell me what's wrong." He soothed.

His face was honest and for some reason, looking at him made Kathy want to tell him everything that had happened. "The Lone Island Estate is the ultimate summer hotspot for local teens. Everyone goes there during the summer,

including my friends! Doctor, they are in danger, along with half of the local teenage population! We have to help them."

The Doctor shushed her. "Look, they will be fine. I will help them, I promise. But right now, I'm bringing you home." He let her go and leaped over to the control board.

"Whoa, hold up, Dumbledore. What are you talking about?" She asked placing her hands on her hips, ready to put up a fight.

"I'm bringing you home." He repeated, pulling a lever which caused the ship to shake violently again. The Doctor scrambled around the controls. Kathy fell forward and steadied herself on the control board. She reached over and pushed a lever down, causing the ship to stop shaking. Everything was silent. The Doctor met her iron gaze on him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going. That's what I'm doing." She stated, straightening up and folding her arms across her chest.

The Doctor bowed his head and sighed. He knew what was happening. "Look, I appreciate you want to help. But this is out of your world, quite literally. And I am not about to see someone get hurt because of me."

"It's not because of you. It's because of the Gronthaars," Kathy persisted. "And they are threatening the people that I have grown up with. I will not just stand by and go back to my regular routine until I know that this stupid town is safe."

_She has the fire of Donna and the can-do attitude of Martha_, he thought to himself. _Martha was always willing to put her life on the line for the sake of others_. He felt a familiar pain as he thought back to the brilliant days of Martha Jones. The trouble with Kathy was that she reminded him too much of his previous companions. On that alone, the Doctor did not want her to tag along. But he couldn't tell her that.

"Kathy, you don't realize the danger of this situation." He said putting his hands in his pockets again and walked towards her. "We are facing an enemy that finds the weakest point of our minds and uses it against us. This is unlike anything that I have seen in a while and trust me, that is saying something. Now, like I said, I appreciate the fact that you want to help, but the fact of the matter is you can't." He now stood toe to toe with Kathy, whose fire had not even flickered.

"Doctor, people's lives are in danger." She said dangerously quiet. "People that I know and love and you expect me to do nothing about it? Better yet, you expect me to go back to my regular job and act like nothing is happening. How can you expect that of me? Look, you need me." The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Kathy held up a forceful finger to shush him. He obeyed. "Yes, you do need me. Because I am your inside information. I know everything there is to know about everyone in this town, and that can help you greatly in this case. Without me, you'll be reduced to asking people questions. And a strange man who no one has seen before asking strange questions about the local kids seems pretty suspicious to a small town like this. And that's where I come in. I don't have to do much. But I am not going to rest until this town is dull and boring again."

The Doctor searched her sea-blue eyes of intensity. She was right, he knew that fully. But he couldn't bring himself to do this again. It would be difficult to get rid of her, but he was just as determined as she was. "People have traveled with me, Kathy." He admitted, swallowing back tears. Time Lords don't cry. "People have helped me and some have gone to the extreme of giving their lives for me." He had to look away. He walked to the car seat chair behind him and put his elbows on his knees. Kathy softened a bit, and relaxed her body, which had previously been pent up with aggression, ready for an argument.

"I have ruined many lives." He continued softly, with a string of detest. "Almost every person I have come in contact with, their lives had been shattered or forever changed. I've lost so much, Kathy. So many people. And I'm not adding another on that list."

Kathy dropped her hands to her side. She bit the inside of her cheeks as she thought of what to say. She needed to be careful, to be gentle, but still firm. She glanced at him as he sat remembering memories that he never wanted to think about again. "Then tell me, Doctor," she said quietly. "If any of your friends were ever in danger, or they needed your help, did you help them?" The Doctor froze. His name was the Doctor. A caretaker of all and helps people become better. Of course he had come running if anyone ever called him. That's what doctors do; they help people. And, Rassilon knows, how many times that happened to the Doctor.

Kathy judged that his silence meant "yes". "Then how could you expect me to do anything different?" The Doctor slowly met her eyes. In them, Kathy could see so many years of goodbyes and mysteries yet to be discovered. In Kathy's eyes, the Doctor found determination and gentleness. They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. Finally, the Doctor sighed.

"Just this once."

**Psh, yea right Doctor! Haha! Anywho, a little bit of angst i know. And there will be more unfortunately. But i am going to try and keep it to a minimum. **


	7. Chapter 7

**hello all! Sorry that i havent been uploading in a while. I have been working on another story so i have been distracted. I am going to try and upload the rest of the story on here today, but who knows. Reviews are much appreciated! **

Kathy and the Doctor peeked their heads above the dark green brush of the Moaning Wood and looked through a pair of binoculars that the Doctor had stored in his TARDIS. It reminded Kathy of a James Bond thing, and hummed the theme in her head. They studied the Lone Island Estate intently, as the teenagers lived a care-free night. Kathy couldn't help but feel jealous as she watched her friends and colleagues party and have fun as if there wasn't a care in the world.

"So tell me again, why we are playing peeping toms when I could just go over there and experience things for myself?" Kathy questioned, feeling rather anxious.

"I want to make sure that there are no immediate or obvious signs of danger. I don't want to just go sauntering in without knowing exactly what we are dealing with. Using your knowledge of local life, we can identify any abnormal behavior." The Doctor explained, almost monotone. He wasn't really paying attention to her anyway.

"But what if someone sees us?" Kathy persisted. She didn't want to get caught by a local, and have it spread around town that she liked to watch teenagers from afar, especially since she was supposed to be working. Oh, she was so getting fired.

"The TARDIS scanned the area. There is no one living within 20 kilometers from here. The probability of someone spotting us is highly unlikely, especially since this is referred to as the Moaning Woods."

"Kilometers?"

"Oh, right. America has a different system. Uh, 20 kilometers are equivalent to about 12 miles."

"Alright, but what about the Gronthaars? The TARDIS also mentioned that there were some in the woods."

He held up his sonic screwdriver without breaking his concentration, and pressed the button, which sounded the electronic hum. "I've set my screwdriver to alert us if a Gronthaar comes within 50 feet of us. Now, quit your fussing and keep a look out." Keeping his finger on the button, he adjusted the focus and tried to zoom closer on the teenagers. "Notice anything different? Anything at all? Even the smallest bits can help."

Kathy raised an eyebrow and sighed. She peered once again to the Estate. There was a boating dock on the south end of the small island. The mansion stood in the middle, consumed with ivy and mold. Gardens that were, at its prime, more beautiful than the gardens at Versailles. Now, weeds had invaded and chocked the beauty to death. Vines and dead twigs scattered the grounds. What used to be an illustrious posh fountain was now a fire pit where most of the teens were gathered at that time. It was common knowledge among the locals that the mansion was only used for more "private and intimate" meetings.

As she looked about, she thought she would say what she saw out loud. That way the Doctor could catch up with some local news. "Well, I see that Dexter Trouff is no longer single. Mary Jo and Gracie are insulting everyone around them, no surprises there. Ha! Mark Johnson is trying to pick a fight with Justin Cole, captain of the wrestling team. Oh, he must be drunk or something. Good luck, Markie. Karla Scythe is the head cheerleader and looks like she is getting very friendly with Bobby Boyd. I wonder what her boyfriend will think of that. Foster Preston and his gang look like their choosing their next girlfriend. They are such sleaze balls. You should have seen them at the Halloween dance last year…"

The Doctor was only half listening. Humans and their drama were annoying to him. All they lived for was the next scandal or something. Maybe it's because their lives are so boring. He could care less about who cheated on whom, or who broke up with whom. Nonetheless, Kathy kept gabbing about it.

Kathy. She complicated the situation that was supposed to be so simple. He was not about to have another person accompany him in the TARDIS, not after what he had been through. He told her it would just be this once, but he knew the reality. All the Doctor wanted was to pack a few adventures before he had to… die. The thought made him shiver and shake in fear. It was going to be soon, he knew that. It was just a matter of when. And the thought, well, scared him, though he never in a million years would admit it. So, if his time was almost up, what was the point in having a companion?

"Well, that's different." Kathy commented, snapping the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"What? What do you see?" he asked eagerly, thankful for some action.

"Do you see the boy on the far right with his group of nerd friends? He has blonde, curly hair and dark blue glasses. His gang is wearing t-shirts that say 'SMarty's Chess Club'." He was able to spot the awkward looking kid with his gang of other awkward kids. He still wore braces and wide rimmed glasses, like he came out of the 1980s. "That's our class president, Carl Rooney. He's been class president for ten years now."

"Ten?"

"Yea, well, no one else cares that much about it, so he's always the only candidate. He's also president of the computer and comic book club. Straight A student. Winner of the Science fair three years running. Your classic nerd. Gets picked on quite a bit, but looks like he's planning something." Kathy felt a twinge of jealousy. Even Brainy Rooney got to party at the Estate. She quickly shook the feeling away, and observed the scene before her.

Carl's buddies were nudging him forward and laughed mischievously. At first, Carl seemed reluctant. But eventually, he walked up to Justin. They exchanged a few words. Then, Carl punched Justin in the face, knocking him backwards with shock. Kathy's mouth dropped, as well as the people around the two boys. Anyone who picked a fight with Justin Cole was asking for death. And here was the class nerd whopping the wrestling captain! Justin took a couple seconds to regain his bearings, while Carl looked at him smugly. Then, Justin tackled Carl to the ground with an animal-like force.

"Oh, my god." Kathy gasped as she watched a live Animal Planet show.

"I am guessing that's not normal behavior." The Doctor remarked. "That boy has phenomenal amounts of strength in that tiny little body."

"Carl couldn't even lift his lunch tray without struggling. Let alone knock a hundred-twenty pound dude over." Everyone around the two wrestling boys were frozen, not sure if they wanted to run away or help. "The last person who picked a fight with Justin ended up with severe brain damage, enough to cause a minor concussion."

The brawl intensified as Justin let the blows grow harder, enough to make Carl's weak body shake violently. Nevertheless, Carl kept returning the blows with impossible amount of power. At last, Justin's team mates decided to break it up and pulled the two off of each other. Justin could barely stand properly; his face littered with dirt and blood. Carl wiped his mouth that was dribbling with blood as well and stared at Justin with defiance that had never been seen in him or anyone who had faced the wresting captain. Justin hobbled off with the help of a few team mates and the crowd dispersed away from Carl and his gang. No one dared to speak a word to Carl. His friends slapped him on the back and cheered loudly. They eventually walked off to the north side of the island, the more secluded part, leaving the garden empty and bare.

Kathy stood up slowly, still in shock. She walked to the nearest tree and leaned on it, her mind flying a million miles per minute. "What just happened?" she exhaled.

The Doctor stood up as well and gathered the binoculars. "The Gronthaars are getting more dangerous. I suspect they are tapping into a teenager's psychic network and using their hormones as weapons. They are getting stronger."

Kathy couldn't even listen; instead she sat shaking her head. "No, this can't be happening. Not to me. Not to this _stupid_ town. Not to my friends. Oh, my God, my friends are over there. Everything is changing too quickly."

Placing both the binoculars in his pockets, the Doctor walked to Kathy and placed his hands on her shoulders again, reassuringly. "Look, I promised you I would help them, remember? And when I make a promise, I keep it. There still is a good chance that your friends are unharmed. But we need to get over there and investigate. Can you do that, Kathy?" She nodded.

"Let's go kick some alien rear." She smiled determinedly.

"So, wait, why can't we just rent a boat?" Kathy asked as they entered the TARDIS again. The Doctor ran over to a portion of the floor and lifted the metal grating. "Won't a blue police box look out of place on an island full of curious teenagers?"

The Doctor lowered himself down into the compartment in the floor and began to search. "Not if we park inside the mansion. It looks run down anyway."

"Yea, well let's just hope we don't land next to a couple of really good friends." She muttered. "And what are you doing?" Kathy asked, dodging flying objects the Doctor was flinging over his shoulder.

"Searching for something. It will help us in the investigation." He mumbled beneath her feet.

"Huh, investigation." She thought aloud. "Never thought of it like that. It's like Ghostbusters and CSI combined."

The Doctor chose to ignore the last comment for more reasons than one. "Aha!" he exclaimed. He stood up quickly, forgetting that there was a metal grating above him. Thus, he hit his head on the metal. "Ow." He mumbled.

Kathy wasn't sure whether to be concerned or to laugh. "You alright?" she asked swallowing a chuckle.

This time he poked his head out of the opening, still rubbing his head. "I found it." He said, pulling himself from the compartment.

"And what exactly is that?" She grunted, helping him out.

He replaced the grating and faced Kathy, holding out his hand. In it, laid two sets of brass keys that were tied to a thick black strand. "Perception filters!" He said excitedly, as if they were toys he just got for Christmas. "You see, these will allow us to walk around the island without being detected."

"So, that's your big plan?" Kathy stated sarcastically. "How do they work? If anyone spots us, do we hold up the key to their face like the Exorcist?"

"No, no, no. Nothing like that. These little dandies have a… well, let's just say a complicated composition. See?" He placed the key around his neck like a necklace. Kathy stared at him, but with the key around his neck, she felt her eyes wander away from him. She had to shake her head a few times. But it was like her eyes couldn't land on the Doctor. "Hello?" he called teasingly. The voice sounded like it was coming from inside her head.

Placing her fingers on her temples because of the headache she was getting, she said, "It's like you were speaking in my mind."

The Doctor had his fun and slid off the key. "You see, perception filters are just what they sound like. They change the perception of others. They play tricks with the brain, making it so that the person wearing one is virtually invisible. It'll be like they know we're there, but we won't register as anyone of importance or a threat in any way."

Kathy nodded, only half getting it. "So, we wear these around our necks and no one will notice us?"

"Yep, as long as we don't do anything to draw attention to ourselves, we should be able to observe and investigate without anyone knowing! Well, when I say they won't know, I mean that-"

Kathy held up her hand to stop him from confusing her even more. "Yea, yea, I get it." She insisted.

"Right." He nodded once and waltzed over to his beloved control board. "Off we go. Allons-y!" The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS sprang to life.

**A bit of "Allons-y!" for ya, there! ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a bit of warning, there is a part in the next that is a tad bit suggestive at certain parts. There won't be anything graphic or anything, I promise you that. I'll remind you in the next chapter but just a warning.**

The Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS and looked around. Kathy followed closely behind. Much to Kathy's relief, they were in an empty and rather cramped room. Some light shone through underneath the door. However, it wasn't much. It was quickly nearing nighttime.

"It must be a cupboard, or something." The Doctor remarked.

"Or a closet." Kathy said, nodding to the clothing on the adjacent wall that looked like clothes that were worn on _That's 70s Show._

The Doctor nodded and reached into the pockets of his oversized trench coat, pulling out the keys. He handed one of them to Kathy. "Remember, try to act as calm as possible. Don't do anything to attract attention."

Kathy nodded as they slipped the keys around their necks. "I feel like I'm a spy in a James Bond movie." She smiled excitedly. She had wanted excitement in her life. And now she was getting a full package.

The Doctor opened the door and emerged into the next room. It looked as though no one had touched the room for decades. Cobwebs littered what was obviously a girl's room. Psychedelic floral wallpaper covered the walls, along with a couple posters of Shawn Cassidy and Star Wars, and threatened to peel from the cracked ceiling. The bedspread was pink and orange. There was a vanity on the wall opposite from the closet. On the counter were make-up and hair products that matched the rest of the room. Old and decaying. Kathy snorted. This was definitely _That 70s Show_ style.

They moved to the hall, which was very extravagant. There was a chandelier in the middle and a rug that looked like it had been made in Egypt. Knowing the Moore's former financial status, it probably was. They passed a few doors that revealed to be a living room and a dining room. Kathy marveled at the old mansion. Sure, it was barely standing and mold and cobwebs had made their mark on it, but if someone had taken the time to take care of it, this house would be beautiful. She was sure that when it actually was a house, it was. There were many stories about the inside and what it used to be like. But it was nothing compared to actually seeing with her own two eyes. It was breath-taking.

Every once in a while, the Doctor would quickly scan the area with his sonic screwdriver, but only for a couple seconds. Not long enough to attract attention. They could hear distant noises of happy times, but that was all the noise they could hear. It was a haunted house, right out of a Grimm's fairy tale. His thoughts couldn't help, but think back to the last time he had to use the perception filters. Back when he met the Master again. Back when Martha and Jack were with him. Back to the year that never was. And here he was, doing almost the same thing again, except he wasn't a wanted criminal this time. The sonic screwdriver gave readings of Gronthaar presence, but no readings of a base or anything of that sort. Finally, he had some strong readings once they reached the library, making him stop and look around warily.

The library held bookcases that reached the ceiling, each one filled with books of various sizes and genres. There were plush lounge chairs and desks around the room. On the wall across from the door where he and Kathy stood, was a gigantic and elegant window. It looked down on the gardens where they had just witnessed the brawl between the nerd and the wrestler. It sort of reminded Kathy of the library in _Beauty in the Beast_, only not animated and it was smaller.

The Doctor scanned the room, this time taking his time, doing a thorough sweep. "There seems to be strong signals coming from one of the bookcases." He whispered softly to Kathy. They walked slowly by each bookcase and scanned it with the sonic screwdriver. Then, when they got to the bookcase on the wall on the far right, it began to hum louder. "It's coming from this one here." The Doctor said, putting the screwdriver in his breast pocket.

"So, what is it like a rotating bookcase? Like _Nancy Drew_?" Kathy asked, as he examined the shelves closely.

"_Nancy Drew_? This isn't a mystery novel." He said as he tapped various points trying to find the way to open it.

"Just trying to help," Kathy muttered, as she scanned the shelves filled with books, varying in age and genre.

"But the question is, how do we open it?"

"Well, there's always a book that they would pull out and then the bookcase would turn." Kathy nonchalantly suggested again. "That's how they did it in _Nancy Drew_ and in _Scooby-Doo_."

"This is not a fictional situation, Kathy," he repeated, sure that she was wrong.

"Oh, really?" she challenged as she spotted a _Nancy Drew_ book. It was different from the others because it was the only book that did not have cobwebs on it. She pulled it out halfway and there was a low crunch. The Doctor jumped back a couple feet in surprise, as they started to move. It was something in a story. A portion of the shelf rotated along with the floor beneath their feet. It finally clicked into place when they were on the other side. "_Nancy Drew_ has never let me down." Kathy teased.

They turned to examine the room they had stumbled into, literally. At one point it had been an office of some sort. Traces of portraits of business looking men remained on the wall. However, the heat had definitely risen and the room was now scattered with kids lying on beds that emanated a red light. Looking closely, Kathy realized that she knew the kids! They were the kids who were acting weirdly, including Carl Rooney. They lay on the beds as if they were sleeping. Kathy gasped at the sight to see her class mates like that. She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder that belonged to the Doctor.

"What happened to them?" she asked.

The Doctor walked to the nearest bed, where Helen Shirley lay. He scanned her with the sonic screwdriver. "It's alright. There just in a coma-like state. Doesn't look like any damage was done to them." He said as he studied the bed.

As she walked closer to the bed, she could see that on the side of the red-light bed were monitors, small screens that surrounded Helen's body, monitoring her vital signs and heart rate. It was like a futuristic hospital bed. Overwhelmed with emotions, Kathy looked at Helen's face. It was peaceful, as if she was dreaming of ice cream cones and lollipops, completely unaware of the things that were being done. "So what exactly is this?" Kathy asked, trying to find the strength not to cry.

"It's a form of a stasis chamber." The Doctor stated. "It monitors the person lying on it and induces them into a coma. It keeps the person alive and safe. So that's good news. But what doesn't make sense is why the Gronthaars need a stasis chamber. It's usually used for cloning or medical purposes. The Gronthaars don't need to clone anyone because they can change into any form. And there is nothing wrong with them medically."

"That's Helen Shirley." She said, half listening to him. "She was one year above me. She graduated last year and was going to study in Africa, so she could help the sick and wounded. The sweetest and smartest girl in her class. And they just took her and changed her." The tears were threatening to run, but Kathy pushed them back as hard as she could.

The Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Kathy, they are alive. There is still hope that we can get them out of here unharmed. The Gronthaars need them for something, so as long as they need them, they will stay alive. They'll be just fine."

Kathy looked from bed to bed, instantly recognizing the faces. Her heart ached for her friends and their families. Suddenly, there was a sound of a door opening, that made both of them jump. They saw shadows dance on the wall as two figures neared them.

"Don't make a sound." The Doctor muttered as he pushed him and Kathy to the wall behind them. With their backs to the walls, the other two figures walked into the hot red room. Kathy drew in a quiet breath. She recognized them immediately. One of them was Carl Rooney and the other was Trenton Briggs. It made her head spin since they were standing on the opposite side of the room and lying in a hospital bed.

"We need to prepare them for a greater victory." Trenton said as Carl walked to a computer screen in the corner of the room.

"We will be patient." Carl insisted. "They are not yet ready. Besides, we do not have enough."

"Then why don't we just take the whole island by force?"

"And risk the chance of someone hearing their pitiful cries for help? No, we will stick to the plan." Carl started to mess around with the computer and typed rapidly. Trenton appeared to be very impatient and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Carl rose from the computer and walked to the Carl that was lying in the hospital bed. "Soon, we won't need to fight. It will be done for us." He stated as he checked his vitals. "Alert the others. Tonight will be our finest night. In which we shall change and live throughout eternity." Trenton nodded obediently and walked out.

Carl stood and looked at the other kids in the beds. He even looked at the Doctor and Kathy. They froze and clutched each other's hand, praying that the perception filter would protect them. Carl showed no signs that he knew of their presence. Instead, he looked as though he might have seen something but dismissed it as nothing. Shaking his head, he followed Trenton out. Once they heard a door slam shut, they relaxed and let out a breath.

"Let's get out of here," the Doctor said, not letting go of Kathy's hand. He pulled_ Nancy Drew_ halfway out and let the bookcase rotate again. Once they were on the other side, he let go of her hand and started to pace. "They are planning something." He muttered to himself, bringing a hand up to his hair as he thought. "He said that they didn't have enough. Enough what? Children? And what are they doing with a stasis chamber? Oh, my head!" He ruffled his already crazed hair like a madman.

"Doctor, calm down and lets think this through," Kathy soothed.

"No!" he snapped. "Shut up, I'm thinking." He then started to mutter words that Kathy could not understand, unable to tell the difference between alien or English. Then, all of a sudden, he yelled, "Oh! I've got it!"

"What, then?" she asked rather impatiently.

"They are using the human's will to survive! That's it! See, a long time ago, the Gronthaars invaded the planet of the Apexicats. The invasion failed miserably and the Gronthaars were forced into exile from the Brumpto galaxy, and disappeared. And that was only a thousand years ago. No one heard from them since, so that means they must have been hiding here all that time. Waiting and planning. They are a vicious species and will do anything to survive." _Much like the Daleks_, he thought to himself.

"But what does that have to do with teenagers? And why Torch?"

"They must have chosen this place because it was a less populated part of the world. And they are using the teenagers changing biology as fuel."

"Fuel for what? You're still not making any sense."

"Doctor?" said a voice from behind the Doctor. They both froze. Kathy did not expect anyone to find them with the perception filters. The Doctor thought he was hearing things. He knew that voice all too well.

He slowly turned to face the person behind him. His face dropped and his mind raced five times its usual pace. He could feel his hearts flutter a bit and his palms sweat.

"It can't be." He whispered in his shock.

The woman smiled brightly, making the Doctor's insides melt. "It's me."

"Who the hell are you?" Kathy spoke up.

The Doctor stared at the woman's face, the precious face he thought he would never see again.

"Rose."

**Yes, i did add a bit of Nancy Drew in there. So what? **


	9. Chapter 9

**ok, it's actually the next chapter that is a bit suggestive. sorry :/**

**But yes, i did just dropped the Rose bomb on you. Things will get angsty so be warned.**

The woman was blonde, very blonde. Her eyes were twinkling in the twilight. Of course, she was British, too. But her accent seemed a bit more cockney. Kathy didn't recognize her, but apparently, the Doctor did. And it wasn't just anyone, judging by the way the Doctor said her name. Rose.

"Hi, Doctor." Rose said, smiling widely. "Did you really think that the perception filter would work on me?" She reached for the key and yanked it off his neck. But he was too stunned to even flinch.

The Doctor shook his head slightly, fighting a chill racing up his back when he could smell her. Oh, how he missed that smell. "But that's impossible. You're not supposed to be here." He thought aloud.

She giggled quietly. "Well, it's nice to see you, too."

"What about the Meta-Crisis me? You're supposed to be with him."

"Did you really expect me to just accept him?" She said her smile fading. "Did you expect me to just stop loving you?"

Kathy raised her eyebrows. Well, this was getting interesting. "Look, I hate to break up this little soap opera moment, but who are you?" Kathy asked stepping forward.

Rose's eyes fell on Kathy, and looked her over. There was a slight twinge of pain that flashed across her face. "So, I see you found yourself someone else, then." She said to the Doctor.

"Rose, she's not…"

"How long did it take for you to get over me? A day? A day to get over me and move on to a younger Yank?"

"Hey," Kathy objected, as she slipped of her key. There was no use wearing it now.

"Rose, I never stop thinking about you." The Doctor said with intensity.

"But yet, you still go off and find yourself a new one. I thought that… you and me…" She reached out and touched his face gently. Her touch made both of his hearts flutter faster than a humming bird.

"But you're supposed to be in another world! Pete's World, remember? With the other me. How did you get back, anyway?" The Doctor took a few steps back, trying to work out the current situation. He could feel his entire head spin.

"You lied to me. He's not you. He doesn't need me. All he needs is trouble and… well, not me." Tears threatened to fall from her beautiful light brown eyes.

The Doctor could feel his own eyes flood a bit, but refused to let them overflow. He dropped his head. All the emotions he had worked so hard to contain were flooding in all at once. He could feel every word that he wished he had said were clumping in his mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rose." He whimpered.

Kathy stood there in the midst of it all, unaware of what was happening. This whole thing was giving Kathy a new perspective on the Doctor. He was much more complicated underneath it all, which Kathy had previously thought was impossible. Then again, being with the Doctor, there is no such thing as impossible.

But she suspected that Rose wasn't really Rose, thinking back to the kitten when she first met the Doctor. She glanced around to find something to help them escape. Her eyes fell on a candlestick with a candle still in it, though it looked as though it was very weak with age. Still, the candlestick could be used for some purpose. Enough time to distract the strange girl who stood between them and the door. Slowly, she reached for it, hoping that "Rose" wouldn't catch on. Fortunately, they were too cooped up in their soap opera.

"Doctor, I love you. I jumped across universe after universe just to find you. And you just drop me off back home with a complete stranger?"

"It had to be done." He said. "I thought that's what you wanted. To grow old together."

"I wanted to travel with you forever."

"But forever means two completely different things to you and me."

"So,instead of traveling to different universes and galaxies, I was stuck on a parallel Earth, working and eating chips again."

The Doctor couldn't bring himself to look at Rose. It was just too much for him. "At least I thought that you would be safe and happy. I wanted to give a normal life. The adventure that I am _cursed_ to never have." He could feel his voice failing him.

Kathy saw this as an opportunity. She practically flew at Rose and whacked her on the head with the candlestick, making her skull produce a sickening crunch.

"No!" The Doctor watched in horror as his beloved Rose sank to the floor, with a dent in her perfect head, out cold.

"Come on." Kathy said grabbing his elbow. "Now's our chance."

"What did you do to her?" he asked brushing her hand away. He knelt by Rose's side.

"Doctor, she's not Rose," She said, this time grabbing a hold of his arm with a firm grip. "We need to get out of here. Now." She pulled hard on his thin arm.

Before he could protest, there was a low growl coming from the ground. Both the Doctor and Kathy stopped and looked down with wide eyes. The growl came again this time from Rose. Her body flailed and shook, making it look like she was having a seizure. Spikes started to grow from her spine. Her fingernails were growing into claws. She was changing!

"Run!" Kathy shouted dragging the Doctor out the door. They grabbed a hold of each other's hand and ran for their lives. Behind them, they could hear the Gronthaar growl louder and louder, and knock into various pieces of furniture as it tried to chase after them. It seemed as though the creature was growing weaker. A couple pairs of teens emerged from the rooms and to investigate the noise. "Get out now! GO!" She called to them. They didn't need to be told twice.

Finally, they stumbled into the room they thought was where the TARDIS was stored. It wasn't. As they both leaned against the door, they realized that very quickly, that it was not a teen girl's bedroom. It was more of an adult styled room. But the most interesting part was the two people on the bed, now staring at the Doctor and Kathy. Secretly, Kathy cursed Torch for being so small that she knew everyone. Ryan Wiles, a basketball player, and Abby Mortimer, a cheerleader, rolled off of each other and stared at the two people who just barged in. This was extremely awkward with two pairs panting, for two different reasons. Luckily, they were only half-naked; Ryan was shirtless and Abby was in her pink lace bra and jean shorts.

"Wait, Kathy?" Ryan finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

Kathy rolled her eyes and moaned silently. "I'll explain later. In the meantime, can you two please put on a shirt?" They both closed their already opened mouths and obeyed.

"Way to ruin the moment, Kathy," Abby sneered.

"Oh, please, Abby," She returned the snoodiness. "We have little more important things to worry about." Just then, the creature let out another menacing roar, making Ryan and Abby jump.

"What the hell was that?" Ryan gasped.

"Look, we don't have a whole lot of time," The Doctor snapped and pointed at the door across the room. "Through that door is a servants' staircase that leads to the kitchen. Go down there and out the back door."

"I'm not doing that!" Abby protested. "You're going to tell me what is going on first."

"Just do what he says!" Kathy snapped. She could hear the Gronthaar getting closer. "Or I'll tell James about your new boyfriend."

"For your information, we are no longer together."

"Then, why are you still wearing his letterman jacket?"

Abby looked at the jacket and thought hard about what to say next. "It was a gift." She finally said.

"Just go!" Kathy started to push them towards the staircase. All of a sudden, the door that Kathy and the Doctor had entered from burst open, sending the Doctor, who was leaning on it, flying forward. He was unable to keep himself from going headfirst into the wooden frame of the bed. In an instant, he crumpled to the floor unconscious, as Kathy ran to him. But there was no helping him; he was out cold. The Gronthaar punched a hole in doorframe so it could get in the room. Abby and Ryan let out a scream as pieces of wood from the wall flew at them. The Gronthaar let out an ear-splitting cry at the couple.

"Hey! Gronthaar!" Kathy yelled, mustering up all the courage she had ever possessed. "Yeah, you! Hey, I'm talking to you!" She tossed a book at its head, making it snap its insanely horrific face at her. It still had some of Rose's features, the blonde hair, and the light brown eyes, but the rest was beast. Spikes stuck out of its head, and its mouth held many rows of needle-like teeth, which was already on display as it growled.

"I'm the one who hit you, remember? Candlestick? Whack!" She mimed hitting her on the head. The Gronthaar growled menacingly as recognition passed over its face. "Ryan, Abby, go now." She muttered to them not taking her eyes of the creature. Like a scared squirrel, they turned on their heels and ran down the staircase.

Kathy swallowed and glanced down at the unconscious Doctor, who lay near her feet. She wished with all her might that he would wake up soon. She glared at the Gronthaar again with a huge sense of false courage. "You are hurting these people. So many people are hurting because of you. And I just want to know why. That's all. Can't you at least tell me something? You know, before I am ripped to shreds?" The Gronthaar only roared. "Come on! I have a right to know, don't I? Enough with the roaring! Talk to me!"

Suddenly, Kathy heard the Doctor stir a bit. She looked down at him and saw him move only slightly. She knelt down and put her hand on his back, as if she was going to wake him from a nap. "Doctor? You okay?" She asked frantically. He moaned quietly, but did not answer. "Doctor, come on. I could really use your help right now. Please." She pleaded. "Just open those sleepy eyes and wake up with a promise of tomorrow. Please!"

"I used to tell that. Every morning to wake you up for school." A voice stated that Kathy recognized immediately. She slowly craned her head around and saw her mother standing where the Gronthaar used to be standing. Something in Kathy froze. It was not her step mother. It was her birth mother. She looked exactly as Kathy remembered her. Slightly overweight, crooked teeth and 80's style glasses.

"Then, I would also sing that song from _Singing in the Rain_." Kathy's mother continued, smiling at the memory. "Your favorite musical at the time."

"I have a new favorite now." Kathy replied coldly, trying to show no emotion.

"Well, you are older now. The last time I saw you-"

"No, you didn't see me at all. You're a Gronthaar." She stood up slowly and set her jaw.

"You wanted to talk, didn't you?" Her mother replied shrugging her shoulders.

Kathy swallowed a big lump in her throat. "But why her?"

Her mother smiled mischievously. "Because I know it's a weak point." She taunted.

Kathy bit back a retort and decided to take advantage of this opportunity. "What do you want with us?"

"Your biology is changing. Teenagers are bursting with hormones and energy. We want to harness that, so that we may grow stronger."

"And how are you planning to do that? By cloning yourself?"

"We do not use that primitive process of cloning."

"No, so instead you steal their lives and make their parents suffer. Some kids have died."

"Then, they were not strong enough."

"You don't get it." Kathy took a step towards her Gronthaar mother. "They had a family who loved them. Hannah Mickleson was going to Yale to try and find the cure for cancer for her mother. Jonathon Yates had just struck a deal with the National Football League and signed on to play with the Minnesota Vikings. Idina Remmings never said a bad word about anyone in her life, and could potentially win a Nobel Peace Prize. They had hopes and dreams and all they wanted to do was survive. And you took that away from them."

"For a greater cause."

"Oh, shut up!" Kathy shouted, tired of trying to keep calm. "Now, I know that you are my mother. Because you don't care about kids. If you did care, you wouldn't have left my family. I wouldn't have to be the mother to Daniel and Marie. But you did! And you took my childhood with you! Not to mention, the only thing I have ever wanted. _A mother_!" She walked closer to the Gronthaar. As she spoke, her words got more intense and purposeful. "So, instead, I raised my siblings because I wasn't going to let them suffer the way I was. They needed a mother, just as much as I did. And you know what?" Kathy was now inches from her mother's face. She spoke dangerously soft. "I am a better mother than you will _ever_ be!"

Kathy's mother did not flinch. She just stared into Kathy's eyes with no fear. "I think I found a weak point." She whispered menacingly.

Kathy grinned bitterly. "And that's where you're wrong. In a way, I'm glad you did leave. It has made me a stronger person. So, no, you have not found my weak point. You found my reason for fighting. _You_ have found my _strong_ point!" Kathy reached into her pocket and shoved the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, which she had grabbed before confronting her mother, to the Gronthaar's temple and pressed the button. Her mother screamed and roared for a second. Literally, it all happened in a second. Her mother's body shook violently and her skin bubbled and sizzled. Next, she exploded into particles of dust, silencing her screams and roars. Kathy watched them fall with a stone cold face, though she could feel a tear fall down her cheek.

"Kathy," the Doctor called weakly. Kathy snapped her head around and saw the Doctor lying on his back, his eyes wide open. He tried to sit up, but Kathy rushed to stop him.

"No, don't. It will make that headache feel worse." Kathy soothed monotone.

"What happened?" he asked groggily.

Kathy swallowed hard and placed the sonic screwdriver in his hand. He gave her a confused look. "I killed it." Kathy croaked. She could feel her tears sliding down her cheek, even though she tried to stop them. "It turned into my mom." She explained, as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"The Gronthaar?"

"Yeah. It told me that she was my weak point, but she wasn't. Then, I just pushed the button and put the blue light to her head. Her skin boiled in a split second, then poof. Exploded into a cloud of dust. Right in front of me."

"How did you think of that? And how did you know that would work?" His head ached fiercely, but he still tried to sit up. Only to lay back down in agony.

"I didn't know," Kathy replied, letting out a cold laugh. "I just thought it would give her a headache or something so I could run. But instead, I killed her. And the sad part is that I didn't feel anything when I did it. No remorse, just victory. Is that what I am, Doctor? Deep down inside, am I really some sort of monster? I'm no better than them!" Sobs started to escape her and she placed her forehead on her knees.

The Doctor, ignoring the searing pain in his head, sat up and put his arms around her in a tight hug. She buried her face in his chest and let the tears fall, not caring that she barely knew this man. "No, Kathy," He assured her, as he rocked her slightly. "You didn't know what you were doing. You were trying to survive."

"So, I killed my own mother?" she muffled in his shirt.

"That was a Gronthaar, not your mother." He was patient. He knew exactly what she was going through, since this had happened to him so many times before. "You're not a killer. You couldn't be if you tried. It will be alright. I promise."

They sat there for what seemed like hours. Kathy let out a cry she had been holding back for years. The Doctor just held her and rocked her. His thoughts went back to Jenny. Oh, poor Jenny. She had given her life for her sort-of father and he held her in his arms while he felt the life escape from her. Now, he was here, consoling Kathy, a girl whom he had only just met, as if she was his own daughter. This took Father Time to a whole different level.

"But I heard some of that conversation," he said, trying to cheer her up. "When you tried to reason and talk with it. That was brilliant."

"I guess I was just buying time, so I could think of what to do next or until you woke up."

The Doctor chuckled slightly. "Well, you seemed like you didn't need help from me." He remarked.

Kathy chuckled as well. "I've been a part of Improv Club for years. A master of winging things." That caused both of them to let a giggle. They finally broke the hug and Kathy wiped her eyes.

"But you found out their plan." The Doctor said, grinning.

"No, I didn't. Not really." Kathy said shaking her head.

"Well, more or less," he said. "But I know how to stop them now!"

**So a few things happened, yeah? But the exciting conclusion will come in the next few chapters!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Kathy, hand me my screwdriver." The Doctor said, as he put the finishing touches on the small device he had just made. He scrunched his nose to push his black rimmed glasses up on his nose.

She grabbed the screwdriver from a slot on the control board of the TARDIS and handed it to him. "What exactly are you making?" she asked, frustrated since he had been speaking in riddles ever since he said he knew how to stop them.

The screwdriver clicked into the newly-made device, making it appear like a tiny hammer. The Doctor held it in his hands for Kathy to see. "This is an ultrasound defibrillator," he said, matter-of-factly. "It sends out an ultrasonic pulse to the nearest Gronthaar, which makes them bubble as you saw. You see, the Gronthaars are made of a sort of liquid-gas complex, making it easier to change shapes. However, a wave of ultrasonic sound that is tuned to the right frequency causes the liquid to boil uncontrollably. It doesn't normally cause death, or dust-making, but the Gronthaars are so weak that their biology can't handle too much stress. So, if I administer this pulse inside the house, it would be able to kill any Gronthaars on the island. Of course, then we would have to go catch the others that aren't in the area. And don't worry. The frequency is too high for humans to hear it, so your friends will be safe."

"We're going to kill them?" Kathy asked, since that was the only thing that she could understand.

"Yeah, that's sort of what I just said," The Doctor replied cheekily. He twisted a few pegs on the defibrillator.

"I know that they are pretty dangerous creatures, but they just want to survive," Kathy said. "Don't they deserve a chance to live, at least? There has to be some planet out there where they could live peacefully."

"Gronthaars are the masters of disguise. Even if I did bring them to a different planet, they would find a way back here. After all, this has been their home for centuries now. They're too dangerous to be kept alive."

"And who are you to decide that?" Kathy challenged. "I mean, punishing them is one thing. But you're not God. No one should have to make that decision." After accidently killing that Gronthaar/mother, she didn't want any more deaths.

The Doctor paused and thought about that. It brought him back to Adelaide Brooke. Back when he was stupid and foolish, thinking that he could govern over time. "The Time Lord Victorious is wrong!" She had told him. He hadn't listened to her until she took her own life. It hit him then, what he was becoming, what would happen if he continued. He just wanted to survive, too. It wasn't too much to ask. But he was more important than Gronthaars.

"They have violated certain laws according to the Shadow Proclamation," he replied coldly, going back to his tinkering. "They have to be stopped."

"I can't pretend to know what you just said, but that doesn't matter. You're a Doctor, someone who helps people. You don't execute them without trying to save them." Kathy stated seriously.

He stopped and looked at Kathy. She was right, which seemed to be a reoccurring theme with her. He seemed to be slipping the wrong way again. His mercy was running low. "I will give them a chance. I always give them a chance." He replied. "One chance."

Kathy nodded; still not sure it was the right thing to do. But she trusted the Doctor. She wasn't sure why. They had only just met and she hardly knew a thing about him. But it was clear he knew how these aliens worked better than she could ever hope to be. "Then, what are we going to do?" she asked, getting excited.

"We will go back to that room in the library, this time without the perception filters, and speak to their leader. I'll keep this little dandy tucked safely in my coat," He demonstrated as he placed the screwdriver in his breast pocket. "And will go from there. Simple." _I hope_, he thought.

"It's just that simple? No running for our lives or something ridiculous like that?" Kathy inquired. Something in the back of her head said that it wasn't going to be that simple.

He shrugged. "Pretty much." The Doctor dashed to the monitor and twisted a few knobs. Hopefully, she would leave it at that and just trust him. And she did. In a way.

Kathy paused and bit her lip, choosing her next words carefully. "And um…" She stammered. "If you don't mind me asking… Who is Rose?"

The Doctor felt the familiar pain and loss instantly. But he refused to let it show on his face. "Oh, she was… just… a friend…" He answered slowly, not taking his eyes off of the monitor, avoiding her eyes.

"Just a friend, huh?" Kathy repeated, licking her lips. It was hard for her to press him, and also be gentle. "She must have been a really good friend."

"She was." He replied. "But she's fine now. She's with her family. And well…. Friends."

"You mentioned… another you. What does that mean?" She pushed a little further.

The awkwardness rose in the air, making it difficult for them to breathe. The Doctor couldn't tell her. He didn't know her, nor did he care tell her his sob story that was his life. He said nothing and finished his adjustments on the control board. Then, he waltzed over to the door, opened it, and gestured to Kathy. "Shall we?" he asked.

Sighing, Kathy strode towards the door. "We're not done discussing this." She told him.

"Aye, aye, Captain." He replied sarcastically.

As soon as her foot touched the floor of the closet they were in, she felt a hand grasp over her mouth and a massive arm grab her from the right. She let out a muffled cry, as a sharp pain sliced into her head, and then, slipping into a deep sleep.

The Doctor heard the cry and ran out in the closet. "Kathy?" he called. She was not in the closet. He dashed into the teenage girl's room and found no trace of her. She was not in the hall either. "Oh, no. Not again." He muttered to himself, kicking himself for being so careless. She was in danger, all because of him.

His Time Lord mind was racing with what had just happened. Unconsciously, he ran his hand through his thick head of brown hair. He had seen her jerk to the right, and disappeared. That was it! The wall! He dashed to the wall and reached for the sonic screwdriver to help him try and find a way through. He pulled it out, but stopped himself. The device was still attached to the end. If he turned it on, it would send the ultrasound pulse, killing the Gronthaars. _I have to give them a chance_, he told himself. He would have to find a way in without his beloved tool.

Placing the screwdriver back in his breast pocket, he put his hand in his over-sized coat and pulled the stethoscope from it. He listened intently through the wall, searching for any sounds of movement. There was a faint sound of footsteps on the other side of the wall. He let his hands explore the wall, looking for any cracks or ways to get on the other side. It was a tight squeeze as the TARDIS was an inch behind him and he was pressed up against the wall.

Suddenly, his right hand went through the wall. It quite literally went through the wall. A portion of the wall was just a projection, sort of like a virtual wall. As he poked his hand through, the wall glitched and pixelated. _That's new_, the Doctor thought as he slipped to the other side.

There was a hall that was lined with full bookshelves. Another Persian rug covered the floor and lead to the end of the hall. The Doctor glanced back at the virtual wall. _That couldn't have been here back in the day_, he concluded. The Gronthaars must have installed that. But why this house? The Doctor listened intently down the hall, listening for footsteps or voices. Nothing. Placing one converse shoe in front of the other with caution, he proceeded down the hall, his Time Lord senses on maximum. The end of the hall turned to the left, but the Doctor pressed his back against the wall and poked his head around the corner. He could see the room that he and Kathy had recently discovered, with the kids on the stasis chamber beds. Steam rose from the beds as the technology of the bed worked to control the temperature of the sleeping teens. Red lights indicated that they were all deep in a coma-like state, and alive. The Doctor searched for Kathy, but did not see her on any of the beds that he saw. However, there were noises off in a corner which was out of the Doctor's line of sight.

"Get her in the cage." One male voice said. The Doctor immediately recognized it as the kid who beat up that other teenager. Carl, that's what Kathy said.

There was a thump, followed by the sound of metal clanking. "That should hold her." Another male voice said. The Doctor did not recognize that voice. "The collection is complete."

"Let the others know of the initiation," Carl said proudly. "After millennia of being inferior, we shall rise to the top."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," The Doctor said, squaring his shoulders and entering the room. When he did, he saw that Kathy was strapped in a large bird cage, chains attached to her wrists and ankles. She was still unconscious.

Carl and the boy turned to face the Doctor, neither showed a hint of surprise. "Well, if it isn't the Doctor," Carl stated with a sneer. Billy looked as though he was going to run towards the Doctor, but Carl put out his arm to stop him. "No, no, Billy," he said. "There's no need for violence. Am I right, Time Lord?"

"How do you know who I am?" the Doctor asked menacingly.

"We, Gronthaars, are psychically connected. One of my dear friends scanned your brain, allowing me to see what goes in that expansive head. No wonder your hair is crazed." Carl stayed very calm, which sent chills up the Doctor's spine. Calm usually meant very evil.

"But that friend of yours met her," The Doctor nodded to Kathy. "You know what they say, 'Never scare a human.'"

"Only Time Lords say that. Even after killing his own race, he keeps Gallifrey alive, as if they were still alive. But you and I know the reality."

"Let Kathy go." The Doctor said, stepping forward, defiance lighting his eyes. The red of the stasis chambers added to the clash of good and evil in the room. "And her friends. Whatever you need, I can help."

"Why would we need your help, when we have exactly what we need here?" Billy snickered, looking from bed to bed.

"I have a TARDIS. I can take you to a planet, where you can live in peace. I can help you find another way of surviving. But you can't steal these children's lives. You're violating the Shadow Proclamation decree 4."

Carl threw his head back, laughing bitterly. He took a few steps towards the Doctor. "You think the Shadow Proclamation has authority over us? We are under exile. And that's where their jurisdiction stops. And anyway, we're not stealing their lives. We're just enhancing their ability to survive and feeding it to our own needs."

"I'm warning you," The Doctor said, reaching in his breast pocket and pulling out the new and improved sonic screwdriver. "I am giving you one last chance. I don't want to have to use this."

"Is that an ultrasound defibrillator? Come on, Doctor. I'm disappointed in you." Carl laughed as he walked to the cage where Kathy laid. "You always choose the fighters. You see, you wouldn't dare use that." He gestured for Billy to open the cage. Once it was open, Carl stepped inside and lifted her arms. The Doctor stepped closer to see clearly. Along her arms were tubes and intravenous chords going into her arms at various points. "We are feeding her the DNA of a Gronthaar." Carl explained. "In a few short minutes, her human DNA will be mutated into Gronthaar DNA. Trigger that defibrillator and you kill your friend. The innocent little American girl, whose only desire is to have an adventure. Now you have to ask yourself, Doctor. I have been inside your head. I have seen those pathetic companions of yours, and their sad endings. Granted you just met this one, but could you kill one girl just to wipe out an entire enemy race? I mean, you did wipe out Pompeii to save the world. But how important is just one soul? Could you really bring yourself to kill her?"

The Doctor swallowed hard, careful not to show any emotion. He glanced down at Kathy with so much sympathy. He thought back to that time in Pompeii when he was wondering whether or not it was worth it to kill a whole city to save the world from the Pyroviles. Donna had been there, like she always was. She was his best friend, and now she couldn't even remember him. When he was contemplating about what to do with his own planet and the Time War, he felt the same way. It was a feeling he could only describe as being God. He chose if someone lived or died, for the sake of all creation. Never had the Doctor expected to make these sorts of decisions in his life.

Carl and Billy stared at the Doctor, seeing the internal conflict in his eyes. Suddenly, the Doctor saw a movement. It was Kathy! She looked deep into his eyes and winked before closing her eyes again, and letting her body go limp. Deep in the back of his mind, the Doctor formed a perfect plan.

**Dun dun dun! Ok not so dramatic, i know. But I have always wanted to do that. Anyway, two more chapters to go. Hope you are enjoying it**


	11. Chapter 11

The Doctor sighed, near tears. "No." he answered finally. He hung his head in defeat. "I couldn't do that to her."

Carl stared into the Doctor's brown eyes. He did not fully trust the Doctor, therefore he searched his mind. After finding no ideas of somehow fighting back, he smiled at the victory. "Good man." He replied, holding out his hand. "But just for insurance purposes, I will take that silly device."

The Doctor tossed his precious tool to the Gronthaar. Carl caught it and placed it in the side pocket of his khakis, and velcroed it shut. He straightened up. "Now, it begins."

Billy typed feverously at the computer as a buzzer sounded. "Carl, we have a problem." He motioned for him to come over to the screen.

Carl glanced at the screen, blankly. "What is it?"

"The DNA solution is not strong enough. It's failing." He explained.

"But how?"

"Gronthaar DNA is much weaker than human DNA," the Doctor explained nonchalantly, as if he was describing how the television worked. "Especially after all these years. Human DNA contains carbonic anhydrase within the red blood cells, which transports carbon dioxide in their blood. The anhydrase is extremely reactant with the zinc in Gronthaar DNA, therefore it causes for a cell to erupt. And humans are very good at building cells quickly. Gronthaars… not so much."

Carl sighed out his disgust. "So what do you suggest we do?" he asked Billy.

After Billy shrugged and typed in his computer, the Doctor found his window of opportunity. "Well, you could try changing the solution's molecular to help with slow reaction time in order for Gronthaar DNA to replicate fast enough," The Doctor said, tugging on his ear, again nonchalantly. "Just a suggestion."

Carl studied the Doctor. "We don't have the supplies to change the solution."

"Not unless you know someone who's a genius, and can help rewrite the sequence with just a few electrical charges." He grinned confidently. "Well, that and some juice would be lovely."

"Are you saying that you want to help?" Carl said, scanning his brain for any hint of falsehood. "Help the same guys that you were about to kill a few minutes ago?"

The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Might as well accept defeat. Besides, I don't like to see a dying species."

Carl stared into the Doctor's eyes suspiciously. He once again entered the expansive Time Lord mind. There were so many things running through his mind, it made Carl dizzy. But there was no trace of any secret plot or trickery. "Very well." Carl consented. "But I will be keeping an eye on you."

The Doctor grinned and whipped out his glasses. "Then, I will need an extension cord, copper wire, some pliers, and I would like that juice, by the way. Some apple juice, maybe? No, never mind, I hate apples. Oh, how about some grape?" He barely took the time to breathe as he talked a hundred miles a minute and dashed over to the computer. Carl looked annoyed and nodded to Billy to oblige to his needs.

Meanwhile, Kathy listened keenly, while her mind was racing. Her head was pounding painfully, but she forced herself to ignore it. There were bigger things at stake. She snuck a peek at her arms that were covered in wires and tubes, making her resemble a robot. Her body was aching as she could feel the solution pour through her veins and attack her body. There was an overwhelming need to throw up, but she also had to ignore that. Silently, she prayed that the Doctor could save the other kids. Her life was ending soon, she knew that. But the others deserved to live.

Hidden in her shirt, Kathy could feel the sonic screwdriver that she had swiped from Carl. He had not been very perceptive for a smart, mind reading kid. She did wonder how they did not see through the Doctor, unless he really had turned to their side. How would she know? However, she realized that she had no choice but to trust him. And she decided then, that no matter what happened, she would give the Doctor a chance to prove himself, or she would trigger the screwdriver, even if she had to sacrifice.

Very careful to make sure that her movements were slow and silent, Kathy craned her neck to see what was happening. Billy returned with a tool box, wires, and a glass of juice. The Doctor hardly noticed as he typed furiously at the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen in concentration. Carl snapped him out of his concentration and asked him what they were supposed to do. The Doctor went on and on about some genetics and science stuff, making Kathy's head hurt more. _I feel like I'm back in Mrs. Todd's tenth grade science class,_ she thought to herself, fighting a yawn. That was a class that Kathy had barely passed, and only confirmed that she would never become a scientist or a mathematician. _Oh, God, Doctor, hurry up, _she thought desperately, hoping that Carl or Billy couldn't hear her thoughts.

There were a few quips of electrical pulses that sounded in the room, as the Doctor tried to alter the genetic solution. He couldn't help but glance at Kathy every once in a while. As far as he could tell, she was still "unconscious". Hopefully, he would be able to save her. He was tired of losing everyone he came in contact with. But he pushed the thoughts to the depths of his mind quickly, and focused on his work.

"Aha!" The Doctor exclaimed as the computer screen started to show him some good results.

"So what exactly have you done to the solution?" Carl asked looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

"I've recalibrated it to possess a lot more proteases, to help stabilize the osmosis of both Gronthaar and human DNA." He pointed to the monitor, which displayed a rough outline of a protease. "The proteases will attach to a cell and act as a catalyst, so that Gronthaar DNA may be allowed to enter in the rebuilding processes without any more difficulty."

"I've ran the numbers," Billy spoke up, pushing his glasses up his nose. Classic nerd move. "With the solution improved, the kids should become stronger and better than planned."

"Excellent." Carl said, strolling over to a control board, which resembled a mixture of a sound board and a hard drive. "Then let history begin." He pressed the red button in the middle of the control board. A siren sounded twice, followed by the sound of bubbling. The tubes that were connected to the board and stretched to each of the stasis chambers were flooded with the new solution. The red lights that shone from the chambers slowly changed into a blue light.

Carl and Billy looked victorious as the solution poured into the teenagers' biological sequences. The Doctor's eyes wondered over to Kathy. A blue light from above shone down on her and he could see that the tubes in her arms were pouring in the new solution rapidly. He silently hoped that this would work.

Kathy was fully awake. She could feel her blood cool down, as the new solution poured into her veins. Hopefully, that meant it was working. She kept her eyes shut, but was able to peek through a small sliver of her eyelids. Inside of her, she was whooping and hollering as she could see her friends slowly move their

hands. They were beginning to wake.

In unison, the teenagers, including Kathy, opened their eyes and sat up quickly. It was an involuntary action, but quick. They all sat there staring off in space, blinking as consciousness began to return to them.

"It's working!" Billy shouted in victory. Carl nodded his head towards the Doctor. Billy grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back, making the Doctor shout in surprise and in pain.

"What are you doing?" He snapped as Billy held him firmly.

"We thank you, Doctor, for your help." Carl said calmly, taking a step towards him. "But we have no need for physicians now. Kill him."

Billy reached arm around the Doctor's neck as if to prepare to snap it. As much as the Doctor struggled, Billy had too much strength. The Doctor closed his eyes, ready to accept death. It was about time, anyway. He had a good run, a good life. Everything has its time.

"Oh, I don't think so," Kathy taunted. Carl whipped his head around and saw Kathy standing five feet away from him. The teens on the stasis chambers were still blinking the coma away. But Kathy stood tall and defiant, with a grin. "You see, it really would be shame to kill him, Carl, since you once told me specifically you would never kill a living soul."

Carl grinned maniacally. "Ah, my dear Kathy, that was Carl Rooney. I am Carl, the Gronthaar. Just as you are, Kathy Gronthaar."

"Yep, that you are." Kathy said, nodding. "But you're wrong about one thing." Kathy reached in her shirt and pulled the sonic screwdriver that she swiped from him earlier. Carl's mouth dropped and he checked his side pocket. It was empty. "I'm not a Gronthaar."

"Surprise." The Doctor grunted under the weight of Billy's arm on his neck.

Carl looked at both Kathy and the Doctor in fear and confusion. "You tricked me."

"No kidding, Sherlock," Kathy snorted. "And to think, you were the smartest kid in our school."

"But how? What about those protozoa things?" Carl sputtered.

"They're called proteases." Kathy corrected smugly. "You see, human DNA is a strong substance. Proteases are meant to help with many things in a human's biology. They can break down practically any protein enzyme, but most importantly, they regulate key biological sequences that have a pattern over nature. And since humans have existed for a long time, it recognizes any foreign DNA forcing itself upon human DNA. Therefore, it restores humans to become human again." The Doctor, Billy, and Carl all stared at her in shock. They couldn't believe that she had explained it so scientifically. Kathy shrugged. "I wrote a paper on human DNA sophomore year."

"My family, attack!" Carl shouted to the other teenagers. They were starting to talk and wonder out loud where they were, and move their fingers and heads.

"Forget it, Carl!" Kathy said. "They have already become mostly human. Any trace of Gronthaar is about to annihilated." She held up the screwdriver above her head and pressed the button. The electrical hum sounded and Billy and Carl cupped their ears in pain. The teens screamed and covered their ears as well, and then one by one fainted. Billy and Carl roared impossibly loud for a split second. Their skin boiled and bubbled and then turned to dust. Kathy grasped her head as she could no longer ignore the pain in her head. Her head felt as though it would explode. She screamed and dropped the screwdriver. The hum stopped and silence fell in the room.

The Doctor took a couple seconds to recuperate. Kathy felt her knees fail her and she fell to the ground. The Doctor reached out and caught her before she was able to touch the floor. "I've got you." He assured her, as she still held her head in pain.

"Oh, my head." She whined.

"I'm surprised you haven't fainted yet."

"Yea, well, you ain't getting rid of me that easily." She smiled weakly, as the pain seceded.

The Doctor smiled and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back with as much strength she had left. "You did it." He said.

"No, you did it." She corrected. "If you hadn't changed that solution, I would be a Gronthaar."

"But you're the one who triggered the sonic screwdriver." He said breaking the hug.

Kathy considered it. "Yea, you're right. I was pretty amazing."

They both let out a giggle of relief. They started to disconnect Kathy from the wires and tubes in her arms. It turns out that a sonic screwdriver could also heal little wounds, which was perfect for the little specks of blood on her arms due to the tubes. Kathy looked up to the others. "What will happen to them?"

"You wiped out the Gronthaar from their mind, so the brain shut down for a while to recalibrate. They should have one massive headache when they wake up, but that'll be the worst of it."

"Will they remember anything?" She asked, wondering how she would explain this to everyone.

"Oh, they might remember a few things, but they've been in comatose for a while. You can pass it off as if they just have a bit of a hangover."

They finished with Kathy's arms and walked to the now stirring teens. Kathy walked to Helen Shirley, who was just starting to open her eyes. She looked at Kathy in confusion. "Where am I?" she asked groggily.

"You're at the Lone Island Estate. You were here having fun and then you just fell over." Kathy told her. "Are you alright?"

"Yea, I think so." She said, sitting up slowly. She glanced at the others lying around the room. "What happened to them?"

Kathy smiled. "It was a crazy party."

The Doctor and Kathy helped the teens back to the group in the gardens. Kathy was able to explain to everyone that the reason why everyone had disappeared and went up in dust was just a prank. The teens that were on the stasis chambers were a bit groggy, but bought the story of partying too hard. Kathy's friends swarmed her asking her many questions, but she said she would explain everything later. People asked her about the Doctor, but she just told them he used to be the Moore's gardener and was here to visit.

No one questioned him. No one cared. They were all just thankful to be able to party.


	12. Chapter 12

**This is the final chapter! This is the goodbye scene between Kathy and the Doctor! If you have read this all the way through, I congratulate you for putting up with this odd story of mine. By the way, most of the science explanations came from Wikipedia, so thank you Wiki! Although, it probably isn't really accurate. Anyway, here you go!**

Once the chaos had settled and everyone went back to partying, the Doctor and Kathy went back to the TARDIS. "So did we wipe out the Gronthaars completely?" she asked as they stepped inside the TARDIS.

"No, not completely. I'll have to scan the area for any strays." He threw off his long coat and threw it to the side. Then, he dashed to the console of his beloved machine. "But first, there is one thing I want to show you." He pulled a lever and the ship sprang to life and shook. Kathy held on to the console, steadying herself. She smiled and giggled with glee. She never thought she would love the sound of the TARDIS whirring and having her flail to right and left violently. Finally, the whirring died and the ship stopped shaking.

The Doctor stood up and pushed his hands in his pockets. "Here we are." He announced, grinning slightly, and gestured to the doors.

Kathy glanced at the doors and then at the Doctor. "What's out there?" she asked eagerly.

"Take a look." He said.

Kathy smiled and dashed out the doors. She had expected to see a version of Mars or the Moon. Instead, she stumbled into a porcelain room. The walls were covered in white tiles, as well as the floor. Two sinks were on the far wall opposite three stalls that were painted metallic silver. She knew this place.

"Hang on, this is the bathroom at Mike's," she said. She glanced back at the Doctor who stood in the door of the TARDIS, which was as big as the stall in was in. She laughed, as she thought aloud. "No, wait, don't tell me. It's not really Mike's. It has something to do with the Gronthaars or whatever. They want me to think that its Mike's, am I right? A Gronthaar is going to come bursting in any minute." Kathy chuckled, hoping that the Doctor was joking around. The Doctor looked serious.

"Oh, I know." She said, refusing to accept what she thought was happening. "This is like Planet of the Toilets or something. The whole planet is like an outer space rest stop. Right? Do they have vending machines too? Maybe they'll have Twinkies. Or some alien rehydration drink." Kathy laughed harder, expecting the Doctor to start laughing too. But again, he remained silent and serious. He just looked at her with pain and regret in his eyes. She stopped laughing. "Do I have to?" she asked disappointed.

He nodded, looking down at his shoes. "I'm afraid so."

Kathy felt a twinge of pain inside. "But why?"

"I told you, Kathy. I'm not about to ruin someone else's life. I'm stopping this before it goes any further. For your sake." He spoke softly.

"Doctor," Kathy pleaded. "I was almost turned into a monster today. A Gronthaar monster, no less. Not to mention I saved the teenage population of Torch and quite possibly the world. And now you're expecting to just walk away and pretend like nothing happened."

This sounded all too familiar to the Doctor. Sarah Jane had told him something like that when they had reunited again. "I'm sorry. But it's the way it has to be. I'm better off traveling on my own."

Kathy couldn't hide her disappointment. "Right, well, it's clear I've overstayed my welcome." She sighed. "Besides, I have a job to do." She nodded towards the door. But then, she stared into the 900 year old Time Lord's eyes. "Will I ever see you again?"

He cracked a grin. "You ain't getting rid of me that easily." He repeated.

She let a small laugh. "I'll hold you to that."

"Oh, I bet you will."

Kathy bit her lip. "If you're ever in the neighborhood, well not that you would ever go near here, but if you're in America, pop in for a visit. And you know, Mike's is having a sale on cookies next week, so that should give you an excuse."

He smiled. "I might take you up on that." Then, he stepped towards her and put his arms around her in a hug. "Thank you, Kathy," he whispered.

"And thank you, Doctor, for everything." She said giving one last squeeze.

They pulled away from each other. "I'll see you soon?" The Doctor asked.

"You better. But can you just promise me that… you'll get over yourself and find someone who can handle all this?"

"I don't need anyone."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "You stupid alien, of course you do. Anyone with eyes can see that you're lonely. And yes, even an alien needs to have some sort of travelling companion. And last I checked, you were one."

He was silent, but nodded. Donna told him that once. Kathy reminded him too much of his friends. "Right so, I'll be off." He said stepping back into the TARDIS.

"Have fun. And I mean it, you better come and visit." Kathy said giving him a firm finger wag.

"Will do." The Doctor nodded obediently. He gave a quick wave and closed the doors.

Kathy waved back. "Goodbye, Doctor," she said quietly as the TARDIS whirred to life and disappear before her eyes. A gush of wind swept through the small bathroom. The room fell silent, the wind stopped, and Kathy stood alone in an empty room.

A few seconds later, the door swung open. One of the other cashiers, Kali, came bouncing in. "Oh, hey, I'm glad I caught you. You'll never believe what just happened! Ok, I'll tell you. Ok, so I was on my break and then Winnie called me from the Lone Island Estate. Apparently, Carl Rooney beat up Justin Cole!"

Kathy smiled, but tried to act surprised. Honestly, she didn't really care about it, especially since she witnessed it. Kali kept blabbing, however. "And he beat him up good. Justin has a black eye and everything. I mean, who knew that Nerdy Rooney could do that to Justin Cole! Of all people! Oh, I wish I could have seen it." She paused and glanced at Kathy. "What have you been doing?"

Kathy glanced in the full-length mirror on the door. Her hair was covered in Gronthaar dust. The black dress pants she wore had patches of dirt and dust from when she was unconscious on the bottom of the massive bird cage. Kathy looked as though she had taken a dust and dirt bath, even her face had smudges.

"Sarah is not going to like that," Kali pointed out.

Kathy groaned. "I'm not looking forward to explaining this."

"Well, what did happen?"

Kathy paused. _What happened? I met an alien with a ship that's bigger on the inside. I traveled in space and got to walk among the stars. I saved all of our friends from being turned into shape-shifting monsters, including myself. And then, the alien just dropped me off and left._ "I kicked the wall and all this dust came down from the ceiling." She finally replied.

Kali giggled. "Oo, Sarah's going to hate you," She teased.

"Oh, don't I know it. Look, try and cover for me, alright? I'm going to try and clean up a little bit."

Once Kali bounced out, still babbling about the fight between Carl and Justin, Kathy leaned on the sinks. _I go from saving the world to mediocre cashier. This is the life._

She was able to get most of the dust off, and clean her face. The pants were a little difficult to clean, but the help of a paper towel and hot water, Kathy was able to remove most of the dirt. After fixing her hair, she glanced at the mirror one last time. Her thoughts went back to the Doctor.

He was all alone now, which was unfair to him, since he was the most wonderful man in the world. But the one thing that made her think was the way he carried himself, despite everything. The Doctor had experienced so many things and had his hearts broken more than once, but he still had all this passion and care for creatures of all sorts. When she met him, he had never acted miserable or in pain until she started asking him about who he was and his past. And that was an inspiration. "If the Doctor can carry on, then so can I," She told her reflection, then reached for the door. She was determined to face her job the way the Doctor would. Determined to face the rest of life like the Doctor.

Now, here would be a good time to end the story and say they all lived happily ever after. But the story is not over yet.

Sarah was rather upset about the filthy uniform, but this time Kathy did not get angry. She was polite and accepted the lecture she knew was coming. When customers came through her line, she was more chipper and friendly. Her co-workers noticed her change in attitude in what was for them just a few minutes, but for Kathy, it was one long night.

Instead of sulking home, Kathy enjoyed the scenery around her. She waltzed into her house and greeted her cat, Simba, as if she hadn't seen him in days. Her little sister, Marie, came around the corner and wondered what had happened to her sister. Kathy would just shrug and say, "My eyes have been open." Before her dad came home from work, a few of Kathy's friends had just got back from the Lone Island and had a whole bunch of stories to tell her. They decided to meet up at the park. Excited to hear what they had to say about what had happened, Kathy changed out of her work uniform and into a pair of skinny jeans and a blue tank top.

Kathy wandered along the sidewalk, glancing up at the stars, her thoughts turning to the Doctor again. She wondered where he was and what trouble he was getting himself into. But mostly, she hoped that he had found someone to travel with him. He deserved to have a friend with him, because no one should have to be alone as the Doctor thinks he is. Kathy was sure that he had other friends that she hadn't met. Though, he had said that he had screwed up everyone's life he has come in contact with. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, whether it meant they were dead or whatever, but she knew that the Doctor had good intentions, no matter what the situation.

Lost in thought, Kathy barely noticed the increasing speeds of the wind around her. She didn't notice until her hair flew up in her face and almost got knocked over by the strength of the wind. Over the wind rushing past her ears, she was able to hear a faint whirring sound. It was the TARDIS! Kathy smiled and giggled with a childish glee as the beautiful blue police box started to appear on the sidewalk just in front of her. Was she happy to see that stupid box! Once it had appeared fully, the doors creaked open. The Doctor was standing there with the biggest grin on his face.

"Kathy Murnings!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Fancy another trip?"

Kathy matched his smile and ran into the blue box. Finally, she was having a life filled with adventure.

**Ha! Fooled ya! I'm actually thinking about making a trilogy with Kathy as the companion, but i am not quite sure. But don't worry i will not go any farther than three stories. I am in the middle of writing the second part, which i am calling The Healing Power. It will involve the Grand Duchess Anastasia! i am very excited. Anyway, many thanks to you all for reading this!**


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